AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE 


ANGELINE   HALL  IN    MATURE   LIFE 


AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE 


THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  ANGELINE  HALL 


BY  HER  SON 
ANGELO  HALL 


BALTIMORE 

NUNN    &   COMPANY 

1908 


COPYRIGHT,  1908,  BY 
ANGELO  HALL 


BALTIMORE,  MD.,  U.S.  A. 


TO  MY  DAUGHTER 
PEGGY 


179732 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

PROLOGUE    n 

CHAPTER  I.    A  GRAND-DAUGHTER  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 13 

II.    THE  FATHERLESS  CHILD 20 

III.  LADY  ANGELINE 24 

IV.  TEACHING  SCHOOL  30 

V.    THE  NEXT  STEP 33 

VI.    COLLEGE  DAYS  38 

VII.    COLLEGE  PRODUCTIONS  47 

VIII.    ASAPH,  HALL,  CARPENTER 54 

IX.    COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE 59 

X.    ANN  ARBOR  AND  SHALERSVILLE 66 

XI.    STRENUOUS  TIMES  70 

XII.    LOVE  IN  A  COTTAGE 80 

XIII.  WASHINGTON  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR 86 

XIV.  THE  GAY  STREET  HOME 96 

XV.    AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN 104 

XVI.    A  BUNDLE  OF  LETTERS 116 

XVII.    AUGUSTA  LARNED'S  TRIBUTE 127 

EPILOGUE  130 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ANGELINE  HALL  IN  MATURE  LIFE FRONTISPIECE 

AN  OLD  DAGUERREOTYPE OPPOSITE  CHAPTER  V 

THE  GAY  STREET  HOME OPPOSITE  CHAPTER  XIV 

PHOTOGRAPH  OF  1878 OPPOSITE  CHAPTER  XV 


PROLOGUE. 

Dear  Peggy:  As  I  tell  you  this  story  of  the  noble  grand 
mother  who,  dying  long  before  you  were  born,  would  other 
wise  be  to  you  a  picture  of  the  imagination,  I  am  going  to 
let  the  public  listen,  for  several  reasons: 

First.  The  public  will  want  to  listen,  for  everybody  is 
interested  in  true  stories  of  real  folks. 

Secondly.  While  your  grandmother  was  not  the  most 
wonderful  woman  that  ever  lived,  she  was  a  typical  Ameri 
can.  Her  story  possesses  the  charm  and  fascination  of  a 
romance,  for  she  was  a  daughter  of  the  pioneers — those  ill- 
fed  and  ill-clothed  people  who,  in  spite  of  their  short 
comings,  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical,  have  been  the 
most  forceful  race  in  history. 

Thirdly.  This  story  vindicates  the  higher  education  of 
women.  Your  grandmother,  dear  Peggy,  was  a  Bachelor 
of  Arts.  Now  it  is  maintained  in  some  quarters  that  women 
become  bachelors  so  as  to  avoid  having  children.  But  your 
grandmother  had  four  sons,  every  one  of  whom  she  sent 
through  Harvard  College. 

Finally.  This  story  will  demonstrate  conclusively  that 
college-bred  women  should  not  marry  young  men  who  earn 


12 


PROLOGUE. 


less  than  three  hundred  dollars  a  year.  When  you  marry, 
dear  Peggy,  insist  that  your  husband  shall  earn  at  least  a 
dollar  a  day.  This  precept  will  bar  out  the  European 
nobility,  but  will  put  a  premium  on  American  nobility. 

Signed  and  sealed  this  1st  day  of  November,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1908,  at  Annapolis,  Anne  Arundel  County, 
Maryland. 

ANGELO  HALL. 


CHAPTER  I. 


A  GRAND-DAUGHTER  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 

One  fine  winter  morning  a  little  more  than  a  hundred 
years  ago  the  sun  peeped  into  the  snow-clad  valley  of  the 
Connecticut,  and  smiled  cordially  upon  the  snug  homes  of 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  The 
Yankee  farmers  had  long  been  stirring.  Smoke  curled  up 
from  every  chimney  in  Ellington.  The  cattle  had  been  fed 
and  watered.  Pans  of  new  milk  stood  on  the  pantry  shelves, 
breakfast  was  over,  and  the  family  was  gathered  about  the 
fireside  to  worship  God  and  to  render  Him  thanks  for  peace 
and  plenty. 

At  Elisha  Cook's,  on  this  particular  winter  morning,  the 
simple  Puritan  rites  were  especially  earnest.  The  mother 
had  gathered  the  children  into  her  arms,  and  the  light  of 
high  resolve  lit  up  her  face ;  for  this  day  the  family  was  to 
begin  a  long,  hard  journey  westward — away  from  the  town 
of  Ellington,  away  from  Tolland  County,  away  from  Con 
necticut  and  New  England,  beyond  the  Dutch  settlements  of 
New  York  State  to  Lake  Ontario  and  the  Black  River 
Country ! 

I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  that  journey  in  January, 
1806.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Elisha  Cook  and  his  wife  Hul- 
dah,  setting  their  faces  bravely  westward,  sought  and  found 
a  home  in  the  wilderness.  They  went  to  stay.  No  turning 


14  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

back  for  those  hardy  pioneers.  Children  and  household 
goods  went  with  them.  With  axe  and  plough,  hammer  and 
saw,  spinning-wheel  and  loom,  they  went  forth  to  enlarge 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  There  was  no  Erie  Canal  in  those 
early  days.  The  red  men  had  hardly  quitted  the  unbroken 
forests.  Not  many  years  had  passed  since  Fort  Stanwix 
resounded  with  the  warwhoops  of  St.  Leger's  Indians.  In 
deed,  Huldah  Cook  herself — she  was  Huldah  Pratt  then,  a 
little  girl  of  ten  years — had  been  in  Albany  when  Burgoyne 
surrendered. 

No  doubt  as  the  emigrants  entered  the  Mohawk  Valley, 
little  Electa  Cook  heard  from  her  mother's  lips  something 
about  Arnold  and  Morgan  and  their  victorious  soldiers. 
Perhaps  she  saw  in  imagination  what  her  mother  had  act 
ually  seen — soldiers  in  three-cornered  hats,  some  in  uniform 
and  some  in  plain  homespun,  every  man  armed  with  pow 
der  horn  and  musket,  hurrying  through  the  streets  of  the 
quaint  old  town  to  the  American  camp  beyond.  Perhaps 
she  saw  the  fiery  Arnold  himself,  mounted  on  his  fiery  war- 
horse.  Perhaps  she  saw  Daniel  Morgan  and  his  men — of 
all  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution  none  was  braver  and  truer 
than  he,  and  of  all  the  soldiers  in  Washington's  army  none 
could  shoot  straighter  than  the  men  that  magnanimous  gen 
eral  sent  to  Gates — Morgan's  riflemen. 


Moses  Stickney  was  a  crack  shot,  too.  I  have  seen  a  long- 
barreled  musket  of  fine  workmanship  which  he  carried  in  the 
Revolution,  and  have  listened  to  tales  of  his  marksmanship 
still  preserved  in  the  Vermont  valley  whither  his  sons 
treked  westward  from  their  New  Hampshire  home.  Be- 


A  GRAND-DAUGHTER  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.  15 

tween  that  snug  little  valley  and  the  Connecticut  River  is  a 
high  ridge,  from  the  top  of  which  Mt.  Monadnock  is  clearly 
seen.  And  it  was  by  the  side  of  that  grand  old  mountain, 
in  the  town  of  Jaffrey,  that  Moses  Stickney,  late  of  Wash 
ington's  army,  provided  a  home  for  his  bride,  Mary  Hast 
ings,  whom  he  loved  and  cherished  for  sixty-nine  years, 
lacking  four  days.  Tradition  says  this  lady  was  descended 
from  an  English  earl.  Certain  it  is  she  bore  her  husband 
four  noble  sons  and  four  fair  daughters. 

But  who  was  Moses  Stickney?  Why,  he  bears  the  same 
relation  to  the  heroine  of  this  story  as  does  Elisha  Cook. 
He  was  Angeline  Stickney's  grandfather — her  paternal 
grandfather,  of  course.  No  child  could  have  wished  better 
forebears  than  these — Moses  Stickney  and  Mary  Hastings, 
Elisha  Cook  and  Huldah  Pratt.  It  is  recorded  of  Moses 
Stickney  that  he  yoked  up  his  oxen  on  the  day  he  became  one 
hundred  years  old.  A  nonagenarian  of  Gill,  Mass.,  by  the 
name  of  Perry,  who  resided  in  Jaffrey,  N.  H.,  from  1837  to 
1847,  used  to  tell  me  of  this  Revolutionary  ancestor,  with 
whom  he  became  well  acquainted  during  those  ten  years. 
The  old  soldier  was  fond  of  telling  war  stories,  and  tradition 
has  it  that  he  carried  his  long-barreled  musket  at  Bunker 
Hill.  Though  his  eyes  were  bloodshot,  like  the  Moses  of 
Scripture  his  natural  force  was  unabated.  He  was  about 
five  feet,  ten  inches  tall,  rather  slender,  and  a  good  walker 
even  in  extreme  old  age. 

Now  Moses  Stickney  had  a  daughter  Mary,  who  was 
courted  and  won  by  a  gay  young  man  of  the  name  of  Daniel 
Oilman.  Just  what  the  virtues  and  vices  of  this  gallant  may 
have  been  I  am  unable  to  say;  but  he  vexed  his  father-in- 
law  to  such  an  extent  that  the  old  gentleman  declared  no 


16  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

more  young  men  should  come  to  woo  his  daughters.  "  If 
they  come/'  said  he,  "  damn  'em,  I'll  shoot  'em."  Being  a 
crack  shot,  he  simply  needed  thus  to  define  his  position.  His 
daughters  Lois  and  Charlotte  lived  out  their  days  at  home, 
maiden  ladies.  The  oldest  sister,  Susan,  had  escaped  the 
parental  decree,  presumably,  by  marrying  before  its  pro 
mulgation. 

Young  Oilman  shortly  left  for  parts  unknown — though 
shrewdly  guessed  at.  The  War  of  1812  was  going  on,  and 
the  Black  River  Country,  home  of  Elisha  Cook,  was  the 
scene  of  great  activity.  Thither,  then,  went  young  The- 
ophilus  Stickney,  brother  to  Mary,  in  search  of  her  runa 
way  husband.  Tradition  says  he  unearthed  him.  However 
that  may  be,  young  Stickney,  himself  a  gay  and  handsome 
youth  of  four  and  twenty,  found  the  country  pleasant,  and 
its  maidens  fresh  and  blooming.  Moreover,  his  skill  in  car 
pentry,  for  he  was  an  excellent  workman,  was  much  in  de 
mand.  So  instead  of  returning  home  to  New  Hampshire,  he 
wooed  and  wedded  Electa,  daughter  of  Elisha  Cook. 

It  would  be  agreeable  to  me  to  record  that  they  lived 
happily  ever  after.  But  they  did  not.  No  couple  could  have 
started  life  under  more  favorable  auspices :  the  bride,  a  dark- 
haired,  rosy-cheeked  maiden  of  eighteen  years,  daughter  of 
a  prosperous  farmer;  the  groom  a  handsome,  curly-haired 
man  of  twenty-six,  of  proved  ability  in  his  calling,  and  a 
prize  for  any  country  girl.  They  were  married  on  Washing 
ton's  birthday,  1816 — at  a  time  when  this  country  had  finally 
declared  her  emancipation  from  the  tyranny  of  foreign 
kings,  when  the  star-spangled  banner  had  been  vindicated 
by  Old  Hickory  at  New  Orleans,  and  hallowed  by  Francis 
Scott  Key  at  Baltimore.  So  these  young  patriots  needed 


A  GRAND-DAUGHTER  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.  17 

only  to  conquer  themselves ;  but  herein  they  failed — at  least, 
Theophilus  Stickney  did. 

It  is  delightful  to  contemplate  how  Americans  of  those 
days,  clinging  to  the  songs  of  Merrie  England,  to  the  Eng 
lish  Bible,  and  to  English  learning,  defied  the  political  au 
thority  of  the  Old  World,  and  realized  the  dream  of  eighteen 
Christian  centuries  by  establishing  on  a  new  soil  the  Brother 
hood  of  Man.  But  it  is  sad  to  see  how  many  Americans  of 
those  days  and  of  these  days,  too,  have  failed  to  overcome 
the  weaknesses  inherent  in  human  nature.  The  only  free 
man  is  he  who  is  master  of  himself,  whether  the  person  at 
the  head  of  the  government  be  called  King  or  President. 

But  do  not  form  the  impression  that  Theophilus  Stickney 
was  guilty  of  unpardonable  sins.  He  was  an  altogether 
lovable  man.  In  fact,  I  half  suspect  he  won  his  father-in-law 
as  readily  as  his  bride.  Both  men  were  fond  of  music,  and 
sang  well.  They  were  generous,  large-hearted,  as  befits  the 
pioneer.  Resolved  to  win  a  home  on  the  shores  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  they  yet  loved  New  England  and  Old  England,  too. 
Little  pertaining  to  my  unfortunate  grandfather,  Theophilus 
Stickney,  has  come  down  to  me,  except  the  songs  he  sang. 
One  of  them  begins : 

'Twas  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  May 
Our  troops  set  sail  for  America. 

Perhaps  the  best  stanza  of  this  homely  ballad  is  the  fol 
lowing  : 

We  saw  those  bold  American  sons 
Deal  death  and  slaughter  with  their  guns. 
Bold  British  blood  runs  thro'  their  veins, 
While  proud  old  England  sinks  in  chains. 


1 8  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

The  best  of  his  ballads,  to  my  mind,  was  this — the  music 
of  which  I  have  tried  to  preserve,  for  a  little  old  lady  of 
seventy  years,  his  daughter,  sang  it  to  me  long  ago: 


«J 

On  yonder  high  mountain  there  the  castle  doth  stand, 
All  decked  in  green  ivy  from  the  top  to  the  strand ; 
Fine  arches,  fine  porches,  and  the  limestone  so  white — 
'Tis  a  guide  for  the  sailor  in  the  dark  stormy  night. 

'Tis  a  landscape  of  pleasure,  'tis  a  garden  of  green, 
And  the  fairest  of  flowers  that  ever  was  seen. 
For  hunting,  for  fishing,  and  for  fowling  also — 
The  fairest  of  flowers  on  this  mountain  doth  grow. 

At  the  foot  of  this  mountain  there  the  ocean  doth  flow, 
And  ships  from  the  East  Indies  to  the  westward  do  go, 
With  the  red  flags  aflying  and  the  beating  of  drums — 
Sweet  instruments  of  music  and  the  firing  of  guns. 

Had  Polly  proved  loyal  I'd  have  made  her  my  bride, 
But  her  mind  being  inconstant  it  ran  like  the  tide ; 
The  king  can  but  love  her,  and  I  do  the  same — 
I'll  crown  her  my  jewel  and  be  her  true  swain. 

Trouble  was  in  store  for  the  young  carpenter  and  his 
bride.  He  contracted  to  build  a  house  for  a  neighbor,  finding 
all  the  lumber  himself,  and  going  into  the  woods  with  his 
men  to  hew  out  the  timbers.  The  work  done,  the  pay  for  it 
was  not  forthcoming,  and  his  own  little  home,  with  a  farm 
of  eighty-five  acres,  nearly  paid  for,  was  swallowed  up.  So 


A  GRAND-DAUGHTER  OF  THE  REVOLUTION.  19 

the  family  moved  to  the  Genesee  Country  to  seek  a  better 
fortune.  Here  the  children — for  there  were  children  now — 
suffered  from  fever  and  ague ;  and  humbling  his  pride,  The- 
ophilus  Stickney  accepted  his  father-in-law's  invitation  to 
return  to  the  Black  River  Country  and  live  on  a  piece  of  the 
Cook  farm.  Here  it  was,  in  the  town  of  Rodman,  Jefferson 
County,  that  Chloe  Angeline  Stickney,  the  carpenter's  sixth 
child,  was  born.  There  were  three  older  sisters,  and  two 
little  brothers  had  died  in  infancy. 

The  soil  of  Rodman  is  to  this  day  very  productive.  In 
those  early  days  grain  grew  abundantly,  there  were  no  rail 
roads  to  ship  it  away,  and  distilleries  were  set  up  every 
where.  The  best  of  good  whisky  was  as  free  as  water ;  and 
Theophilus  Stickney  became  a  drunkard.  It  is  the  sin  of 
many  a  fine  nature,  but  like  other  sins  it  is  visited  upon  the 
third  and  fourth  generations.  Especially  was  it  visited  upon 
little  Angeline,  a  child  of  a  very  fine  and  sensitive  organiza 
tion.  For  sixty-two  years,  in  a  weakened  nervous  system, 
did  she  pay  the  penalty  of  her  father's  intemperance.  To 
her  that  father  was  but  a  name.  Before  she  was  three  years 
old  he  had  left  home  to  become  a  wanderer.  And  in  Feb 
ruary,  1842,  he  died  among  strangers  in  a  hospital  at 
Rochester. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  FATHERLESS  CHILD. 

All  the  saints  had  not  appeared  on  earth  till  the  birth  of 
Chloe  Angeline  Stickney  on  All  Saints'  Day,  1830.  At  least, 
if  she  is  not  one  of  the  All  Saints  she  is  one  of  the  Hall 
Saints.  No  doubt  the  associations  connected  with  her  birth 
day  helped  the  growing  girl  toward  a  realization  of  her 
ideals ;  for  in  after  life,  in  the  sweet  confidence  of  mother 
hood,  she  used  to  tell  her  sons  that  her  birthday  fell  on  All 
Saints'  Day. 

But  it  appears  that  all  the  saints  were  not  present  at  the 
baby's  birth.  Else  the  child's  father  might  have  been  res 
cued  from  the  demon  of  strong  drink — the  child  herself 
might  have  been  blessed  with  a  strong  body  as  a  fit  abode 
for  her  spirit — and  she  might  have  been  protected  from  the 
silly  women  who  named  her ! 

Chloe  Angeline !  Think  of  it !  The  name  Angeline  alone 
might  do.  Chloe  might  do;  for,  altho'  unheard  of  in  the 
Cook  and  Stickney  families,  it  belonged  to  the  good  woman 
who  nursed  the  child's  mother.  But  Chloe  Angeline! — the 
second  name  borrowed  from  a  cheap  novel  current  in  those 
days !  What's  in  a  name  ?  In  this  case  this  much :  Proof 
that  the  father's  standing  in  his  own  family  was  lost.  His 
eldest  daughter  was  named  Charlotte,  the  third  one  Mary — 
the  same  sensible  names  as  were  borne  by  two  of  his  sisters 


THE  FATHERLESS  CHILD.  21 

in  New  Hampshire.  Apparently  the  defenceless  babe  was  a 
fatherless  child  from  the  day  of  birth. 

Rough  and  crude  was  the  civilization  into  which  she  was 
born.  Bears  still  haunted  the  woods  and  gathered  black 
berries  in  the  more  remote  fields.  In  a  deep  ravine  Ange- 
line's  sister  Elmina  encountered  a  wild-cat.  Matches  were 
not  yet  in  use.  Spinning-wheel  and  household  loom  sup 
plied  the  farmer's  homespun  clothing.  For  salt  Grandfather 
Cook  drove  sixty  miles  to  Syracuse.  Bigoted  religion  was 
rampant,  with  forenoon  and  afternoon  services,  and  a  five- 
mile  drive  in  Grandfather's  wagon.  Aunt  Clary  Downs, 
one  of  Elisha  Cook's  daughters,  kept  a  dream-book ;  and  his 
mother  in  her  old  age  used  to  protect  parties  of  young  peo 
ple  from  witches.  Singing  schools  flourished.  Elmina 
Stickney,  herself  a  good  singer,  was  won  by  David,  not  the 
sweet  singer  of  Israel,  but  David  Cooley,  sweet  singer  of 
Rodman.  Education  was  dispensed  in  the  brutal,  old-fash 
ioned  way.  For  example,  a  teacher  in  those  parts  invented 
the  fiendish  punishment  of  piercing  the  lip  of  an  offending 
pupil  with  a  needle.  Elisha,  a  weak-minded  boy  who  lived 
at  Angeline's,  was  flogged  within  an  inch  of  his  life  for 
cutting  up  and  hiding  the  school-mistress's  cowhide.  Two 
school  supervisors  were  present  at  this  flogging.  The  school 
mistress  would  ply  her  punishment  until  exhausted ;  then 
rest,  and  go  at  it  again.  Small  wonder  that  Elisha  survived 
the  beating  only  a  year  or  two. 

Angeline's  oldest  sister,  Charlotte,  married  young.  There 
were  no  brothers  or  father,  so  that  the  mother  and  four 
young  daughters  were  thrown  upon  their  own  resources. 
Grandfather  Cook,  who  lived  half  a  mile  up  the  road,  was 
their  kindly  protector.  But  from  the  beginning  the  sisters 


22  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

learned  to  look  out  for  themselves  and  one  another.  It  must 
have  been  a  quiet  household,  saddened  by  the  thought  of  the 
absent  father,  and  much  too  feminine.  For  one  thing  I  am 
very  grateful :  the  mother  did  not  whip  the  obedient,  sensi 
tive  little  Angeline. 

Angeline  was  a  very  solemn  little  girl,  happy  at  times, 
with  a  sort  of  saintly  happiness,  but  never  merry.  Perhaps 
too  many  of  the  saints  had  watched  over  her  nativity.  Had 
some  little  red  devil  been  present  he  might  have  saved  the 
situation.  Had  her  cousin  Orville  Gilman,  son  of  the  rene 
gade  Daniel,  only  appeared  upon  the  scene  to  inform  the 
company  that  Elisha  Cook's  hens,  of  New  England  ances 
try,  were  stalking  about  crying,  "  Cut-cut-cut-Connecticut " ! 

At  three  years  of  age  Angeline  began  to  attend  district 
school.  At  five  she  was  spinning  flax.  As  a  little  girl, 
watching  her  mother  at  work,  she  wondered  at  the  chemis 
try  of  cooking.  At  nine  she  had  read  a  church  history 
through.  At  twelve  she  was  an  excellent  housekeeper,  big 
enough  to  be  sent  for  to  help  her  sister  Charlotte  keep 
tavern.  So  from  her  earliest  years  she  was  a  student  and 
worker.  She  had  some  playmates,  her  life-long  friends,  and 
she  enjoyed  some  sober  pleasures.  But  the  healthy  enjoy 
ment  of  healthy,  vigorous  childhood  she  missed — was  fright 
ened  nearly  out  of  her  wits  listening  to  the  fearful  stories 
told  about  the  fireside — and  broke  her  leg  sliding  down  hill 
when  she  was  eight  years  old.  The  victim  of  a  weak 
stomach,  coarse  fare  did  not  agree  with  her ;  and  again  and 
again  she  vomited  up  the  salt  pork  some  well-meaning  friend 
had  coaxed  her  to  eat.  But  she  accepted  her  lot  patiently 
and  reverently;  and  after  the  cold  dreary  winters  one  blade 
of  green  grass  would  make  her  happy  all  day  long. 


THE  FATHERLESS  CHILD.  23 

She  really  did  enjoy  life  intensely,  in  her  quiet  way,  and 
no  doubt  felt  very  rich  sometimes.  There  were  the  wild 
strawberries  down  in  the  meadow  and  by  the  roadside,  rasp 
berries  and  blackberries  in  abundance,  and  in  the  woods 
bunch-berries,  pigeon-berries,  and  wintergreen.  The  flowers 
of  wood  and  field  were  a  pure  delight,  spontaneous  and  gen 
uine;  and  to  the  end  of  her  days  wild  rose  and  liverwort 
sent  a  thrill  of  joy  to  her  heart.  She  and  her  sister  Ruth, 
three  years  younger,  were  inseparable  companions.  Near 
the  house  was  the  mouth  of  a  deep  ravine — or  gulf,  as  it  is 
called  in  Rodman — and  here  the  little  sisters  played  beside 
the  brook  and  hunted  the  first  spring  flowers.  Still  nearer 
was  a  field  filled  with  round  bowlders,  a  delightful  place  to 
play  house.  Across  the  road  was  a  piece  of  woods  where 
the  cows  were  pastured,  and  whither  the  sisters  would  go 
to  gather  hemlock  knots  for  their  mother. 

The  house  stood  upon  a  knoll  commanding  a  pleasant 
landscape;  and  from  high  ground  near  by  the  blue  waters 
of  Lake  Ontario  could  be  seen.  The  skies  of  Jefferson 
County  are  as  clear  as  those  of  Italy,  and  in  the  summer 
Angeline  lived  out  of  doors  in  God's  temple,  the  blue  vault 
above,  and  all  around  the  incense  of  trees  and  grasses. 
Little  she  cared  if  her  mother's  house  was  small;  for  from 
the  doorstep,  or  from  the  roof  of  the  woodhouse,  where  she 
used  to  sit,  she  beheld  beauty  and  grandeur  hidden  from  eyes 
less  clear.  Nor  was  she  content  simply  to  dream  her  child 
hood's  dream.  The  glory  of  her  little  world  was  an  inspira 
tion.  Ambition  was  born  in  her,  and  she  used  to  say, 
quaintly  enough,  "  You  may  hear  of  me  through  the  papers 
yet" 


CHAPTER  III. 

LADY  ANGELINE. 

In  the  summer  of  1841  Elisha  Cook  closed  his  brave  blue 
eyes  in  death ;  and  the  following  winter  a  letter  came  to  the 
Rodman  postmaster  saying  that  a  man  by  the  name  of  The- 
ophilus  Stickney  had  died  on  the  I4th  of  February  in  the 
hospital  at  Rochester.  So  the  Stickney  girls  were  doubly 
orphans.  Elmina  married,  and  Angeline  went  to  live  with 
her  sister  Charlotte  in  the  town  of  Wilna.  How  dark  the 
forests  on  the  road  to  Wilna  that  December  day!  Forty 
years  afterward  Angeline  used  to  tell  of  that  ride  with  Ed 
win  Ingalls,  Charlotte's  husband.  With  his  cheery  voice  he 
tried  to  dispel  her  fears,  praising  his  horses  in  homely  rhyme : 

They're  true  blue, 

They'll  carry  us  through. 

Edwin  Ingalls  was  a  wiry  little  man,  a  person  of  character 
and  thrift,  like  his  good  wife  Charlotte ;  for  such  they  proved 
themselves  when  in  after  years  they  settled  in  Wisconsin, 
pioneers  of  their  own  day  and  generation.  In  December, 
1842,  they  kept  tavern,  and  a  prime  hostess  was  Charlotte 
Ingalls,  broiling  her  meats  on  a  spit  before  a  great  open  fire 
in  the  good  old-fashioned  way.  Angeline  attended  school, 
taught  by  Edwin  Ingalls,  and  found  time  out  of  school  hours 
to  study  natural  philosophy  besides.  Indeed,  the  little  girl 
very  early  formed  the  habit  of  reading,  showing  an  especial 


LADY  ANGELINE.  25 

fondness  for  history.  And  when  news  came  the  next  Spring 
of  her  mother's  marriage  to  a  Mr.  Milton  Woodward,  she 
was  ready  with  a  quotation  from  "  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  " : 

....    Woe  the  while 

That  brought  such  wanderer  to  our  isle. 

The  quotation  proved  altogether  appropriate.  Mr.  Wood 
ward  was  a  strong-willed  widower  with  five  strong-willed 
sons  and  five  strong-willed  daughters.  The  next  four  years 
Angeline  was  a  sort  of  white  slave  in  this  family  of  wrang 
ling  brothers  and  sisters.  When  her  sister  Charlotte  in 
quired  how  she  liked  her  new  home,  her  answer  was  simply, 
"  Ma's  there." 

The  story  of  this  second  marriage  of  Electa  Cook's  is 
worthy  of  record.  Any  impatience  toward  her  first  husband 
of  which  she  may  have  been  guilty  was  avenged  upon  her  a 
hundred-fold.  And  yet  the  second  marriage  was  a  church 
affair.  Mr.  Woodward  saw  her  at  church  and  took  a  fancy 
to  her.  Had  the  minister  intercede  for  him.  "  It  will  make 
a  home  for  you,  Mrs.  Stickney,"  said  the  minister — as  if 
she  were  not  the  mistress  of  seventy-two  acres  in  her  own 
right!  Why  she  gave  up  her  independence  it  is  difficult  to 
see ;  but  the  ways  of  women  are  past  finding  out.  Perhaps 
she  sympathized  with  the  ten  motherless  Woodward  children. 
Perhaps  she  loved  Mr.  Milton  Woodward,  for  he  was  a  man 
of  violent  temper,  and  sometimes  abused  her  in  glorious 
fashion.  At  the  very  outset,  he  opposed  her  bringing  her 
unmarried  daughters  to  his  house.  She  insisted ;  but  might 
more  wisely  have  yielded  the  point.  For  two  of  the  daugh 
ters  married  their  step-brothers,  and  shared  the  Woodward 
fate. 


26  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Twelve-year  old  Angeline  went  to  work  very  industriously 
at  the  Woodward  farm  on  Dry  Hill.  What  the  big,  strapping 
Woodward  girls  could  have  been  doing  it  is  hard  to  say — 
wholly  occupied  with  finding  husbands,  perhaps.  For  until 
1847  Angeline  was  her  mother's  chief  assistant,  at  times  do 
ing  most  of  the  housework  herself.  She  baked  for  the  large 
family,  mopped  floors,  endured  all  sorts  of  drudgery,  and 
even  waded  through  the  snow  to  milk  cows.  But  with  it  all 
she  attended  school,  and  made  great  progress.  She  liked 
grammar  and  arithmetic,  and  on  one  occasion  showed  her 
ability  as  a  speller  by  spelling  down  the  whole  school.  She 
even  went  to  singing  school,  and  sang  in  the  church  choir. 
Some  of  the  envious  Woodward  children  ridiculed  the  hard 
working,  ambitious  girl  by  calling  her  "  Lady  Angeline,"  a 
title  which  she  lived  up  to  from  that  time  forth. 

Let  me  reproduce  here  two  of  her  compositions,  written 
when  she  was  fourteen  years  of  age.  They  are  addressed 
as  letters  to  her  teacher,  Mr.  George  Waldo : 

RODMAN,  January  21  st  1845 

SIR  As  you  have  requested  me  to  write  and  have  given  me  the 
subjects  upon  which  to  write,  I  thought  I  would  try  to  write  what 
I  could  about  the  Sugar  Maple.  The  Sugar  Maple  is  a  very  beautiful 
as  well  as  useful  tree.  In  the  summer  the  beasts  retire  to  its  kind 
shade  from  the  heat  of  the  sun.  And  though  the  lofty  Oak  and  pine 
tower  above  it,  perhaps  they  are  no  more  useful.  Sugar  is  made 
from  the  sap  of  this  tree,  which  is  a  very  useful  article.  It  is  also 
used  for  making  furniture  such  as  tables  bureaus  &c  and  boards  for 
various  uses.  It  is  also  used  to  cook  Our  victuals  and  to  keep  us 
warm.  But  its  usefulness  does  not  stop  here  even  the  ashes  are  use 
ful  ;  they  are  used  for  making  potash  which  with  the  help  of  flint  or 
sand  and  a  good  fire  to  melt  it  is  made  into  glass  which  people  could 
not  very  well  do  without,  glass  is  good  to  help  the  old  to  see  and  to 
give  light  to  our  houses.  Besides  all  this  teliscopes  are  made  of 


LADY  ANGELINE.  27 

glass  by  the  help  of  which  about  all  the  knowledge  of  the  mighty 
host  of  planetary  worlds  has  been  discovered.  This  tree  is  certainly 
very  useful,  in  the  first  place  sugar  is  made  from  it.  Then  it  gives 
us  all  sorts  of  beautiful  furniture.  Then  it  warms  our  houses  and 
cooks  our  victuals  and  then  even  then  we  get  something  from  the 
ashes  yes  something  very  useful.  No  more  at  present. 

ANGELINE  STICKNEY. 

Teacher's  comment: 

I  wish  there  was  a  good  deal  more.  This  is  well  written.  Write 
more  next  time. 

The  next  composition  is  as  follows : 
SLAVERY. 

RODMAN  February  i;th  1845 

Slavery  or  holding  men  in  bondage  is  one  of  the  most  unjust 
practicees.  But  unjust  as  it  is  even  in  this  boasted  land  of  liberty 
many  of  our  greatest  men  are  dealers  in  buying  and  selling  slaves. 
Were  you  to  go  to  the  southern  states  you  would  see  about  every 
dwelling  surrounded  by  plantations  on  which  you  would  see  the  half 
clothed  and  half  starved  slave  and  his  master  with  whip  in  hand 
ready  to  inflict  the  blow  should  the  innocent  child  forgetful  of  the 
smart  produced  by  the  whip  pause  one  moment  to  hear  the  musick 
of  the  birds  inhale  the  odor  of  the  flowers  or  through  fatigue  should 
let  go  his  hold  from  the  hoe.  And  various  other  scenes  that  none 
but  the  hardest  hearted  could  behold  without  dropping  a  tear  of  pity 
for  the  fate  of  the  slave  would  present  themselves  probably  you 
would  see  the  slave  bound  in  chains  and  the  driver  urging  him  on 
ward  while  every  step  he  takes  is  leading  him  farther  and  farther 
from  his  home  and  all  that  he  holds  dear.  But  I  hope  these  cruelties 
will  soon  cease  as  many  are  now  advocating  the  cause  of  the  slave.  But 
still  there  are  many  that  forget  that  freedom  is  as  dear  to  the  slave 
as  to  the  master,  whose  fathers  when  oppressed  armed  in  defence  of 
liberty  and  with  Washington  at  their  head  gained  it.  But  to  their 
shame  they  still  hold  slaves.  But  some  countries  have  renounced 
slavery  and  I  hope  their  example  will  be  followed  by  own 

ANGELINE  STICKNEY. 


28  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Teacher's  comment: 

I  hope  so  too.  And  expect  it  also.  When  men  shall  learn  to  do 
unto  others  as  they  themselves  wish  to  be  done  unto.  And  not  only 
say  but  do  and  that  more  than  HALF  as  they  say.  Then  we  may 
hope  to  see  the  slave  Liberated,  and  not  till  then.  Write  again. 

The  composition  on  slavery  (like  the  mention  of  the  tele 
scope)  is  in  the  nature  of  a  prophecy,  for  our  astronomer's 
wife  during  her  residence  of  thirty  years  in  Washington  was 
an  unfailing  friend  of  the  negro.  Many  a  Northerner,  com 
ing  into  actual  contact  with  the  black  man,  has  learned  to 
despise  him  more  than  Southerners  do.  Not  so  Angeline. 
The  conviction  of  childhood,  born  of  reading  church  litera 
ture  on  slavery  and  of  hearing  her  step-father's  indignant 
words  on  the  subject — for  he  was  an  ardent  abolitionist — 
lasted  through  life. 

In  the  fall  of  1847  tne  ambitious  school-girl  had  a  stroke 
of  good  fortune.  Her  cousin  Harriette  Downs,  graduate  of 
a  young  ladies'  school  in  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  took  an  interest  in 
her,  and  paid  her  tuition  for  three  terms  at  the  Rodman 
Union  Seminary.  So  Angeline  worked  for  her  board  at  her 
Aunt  Clary  Downs',  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  seminary, 
and  walked  to  school  every  morning.  A  delightful  walk  in 
autumn ;  but  when  the  deep  snows  came,  it  was  a  dreadful 
task  to  wade  through  the  drifts.  Her  skirts  would  get  wet, 
and  she  took  a  severe  cold.  She  never  forgot  the  hardships 
of  that  winter.  The  next  winter  she  lived  in  Rodman  vil 
lage,  close  to  the  seminary,  working  for  her  board  at  a  Mr. 
Wood's,  where  on  Monday  mornings  she  did  the  family 
washing  before  school  began.  How  thoroughly  she  enjoyed 
the  modest  curriculum  of  studies  at  the  seminary  none  can 
tell  save  those  who  have  worked  for  an  education  as  hard 


ANGELINE.  29 


as  she  did.  That  she  was  appreciated  and  beloved  by  her 
schoolmates  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  extracts 
from  a  letter  dated  Henderson,  Jefferson  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Jan 
uary  9,  1848 : 

Our  folks  say  they  believe  you  are  perfect  or  I  would  not  say  so 
much  about  you.  They  would  like  to  have  you  come  out  here  & 
stay  a  wek,  they  say  but  not  half  as  much  as  I  would  I  dont  believe. 

come  come  come Your  letter  I  have  read  over  &  over  again, 

ther  seems  to  be  such  a  smile.  It  seems  just  like  you.  I  almost  im- 
magin  I  can  see  you  &  hear  you  talk  while  I  am  reading  your  letter. 

....     Those  verses  were  beautiful,  they  sounded  just  lik  you 

Good  Night  for  I  am  shure  you  will  say  you  never  saw  such  a 
boched  up  mess 

I  ever  remain  your  sincere  friend 

E.  A.  BULFINCH. 

No  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  this  document !  Ange- 
line  had  indeed  begun  to  write  verses — and  as  a  matter  of 
interest  rather  than  as  an  example  of  art,  I  venture  to  quote 
the  following  lines,  written  in  October,  1847  : 

Farewell,  a  long  farewell,  to  thee  sweet  grove, 
To  thy  cool  shade  and  grassy  seat  I  love ; 
Farewell,  for  the  autumnal  breeze  is  sighing 
Among  thy  boughs,  and  low  thy  leaves  are  lying. 
Farewell,  farewell,  until  another  spring 
Rolls  round  again,  and  thy  sweet  bowers  ring 
With  song  of  birds,  and  wild  flowers  spring, 
And  on  the  gentle  breeze  their  odors  fling. 
Farewell,  perhaps  I  ne'er  again  may  view 
Thy  much-loved  haunt,  so  then  a  sweet  adieu. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


TEACHING  SCHOOL. 

In  the  North  teaching  follows  schooling  almost  as  a  matter 
of  course.  In  1848  Angeline  Stickney  began  to  teach  the 
district  school  in  Heath  Hollow,  nead  Rodman,  for  a  dol 
lar  and  a  quarter  a  week  and  board.  The  same  year  she 
taught  also  at  Pleasant  Valley,  near  Cape  Vincent,  whither 
Edwin  Ingalls  had  moved.  Angeline  boarded  with  her 
sister  and  spun  her  wool.  Would  that  some  artist  had 
painted  this  nineteenth  century  Priscilla  at  the  spinning- 
wheel  !  For  the  next  nine  years,  that  is,  until  a  year  after  her 
marriage,  she  was  alternately  teacher  and  pupil.  In  the  win 
ter  of  1849-50  she  tutored  in  the  family  of  Elder  Bright,  who 
six  years  later,  in  Wisconsin,  performed  her  marriage  cere 
mony.  In  the  winter  of  185051  she  attended  the  semi 
nary  at  Rodman,  together  with  her  sister  Ruth. 

An  excellent  teacher  always,  she  won  the  respect  and  affec 
tion  of  her  pupils.  After  her  death  a  sturdy  farmer  of  Rod 
man  told  me,  with  great  feeling,  how  much  he  liked  the 
patient  teacher.  He  was  a  dull  boy,  and  found  many  perplex 
ities  in  arithmetic,  which  Miss  Stickney  carefully  explained. 
And  so  she  became  the  boy's  ideal  woman.  Very  seldom 
did  she  have  to  resort  to  punishment,  but  when  punishment 
was  necessary  she  did  not  flinch.  The  same  might  be  said 
of  her  in  the  rearing  of  her  four  sons.  Her  gentleness, 


TEACHING  SCHOOL.  31 

united  to  a  resolute  will  and  thorough  goodness  of  heart, 
made  obedience  to  her  word  an  acknowledged  and  sacred 
duty. 

The  following  fragment  of  a  letter,  written  after  she  had 
begun  her  college  course  at  McGrawville,  gives  a  glimpse  of 
her  at  this  period : 

WATERTOWN  Nov.  27th  '52 

....  it  is  half  past  eight  A.  M.  there  is  one  small  scholar  here. 
I  have  had  but  fourteen  scholars  yet,  but  expect  more  next  week. 
Sister  Ruth  teaches  in  the  district  adjoining  this.  I  see  her  often, 
have  been  teaching  two  weeks.  I  do  not  have  a  very  good  oppor 
tunity  for  studying,  or  reciting.  There  is  a  gentleman  living  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  me  to  whom  I  suppose  I  might  recite,  but  the 
road  is  bad  and  so  I  have  to  content  myself  without  a  teacher,  and  I 
fear  I  shall  not  make  much  progress  in  my  studies  this  winter. 

Saturday  Dec  4th I  do  not  teach  to-day,  so  I  started  off  in 

the  rain  this  morning  to  come  and  see  Sister  Ruth.  It  is  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  across  through  swamp  and  woods,  but  I  had  a  very 
fine  walk  after  all.  I  had  to  climb  a  hill  on  the  way,  that  may  well 
vie  in  height  with  the  hills  of  McGrawville,  and  the  prospect  from  its 
summit  is  the  finest  I  ever  saw.  Sister  saw  me  coming  and  came 
running  to  meet  me  and  now  we  are  sitting  side  by  side  in  her 
school  room  with  none  to  molest  us I  board  around  the  dis 
trict Oh!  how  I  long  for  a  quiet  little  room,  where  I  might 

write  and  study 

Let  me  add  here  an  extract  from  a  brief  diary  kept  in 
1851,  which  illustrates  a  phase  of  her  character  hardly 
noticed  thus  far.  She  was,  like  the  best  young  women  of 
her  day  and  generation,  intensely  religious — even  morbidly 
so,  perhaps.  But  as  sincerity  is  the  saving  grace  of  all  relig 
ions,  we  may  forgive  her  maidenly  effusion  : 

Monday  June  2  David  came  and  brought  me  down  to  school  to 
day.  When  I  came  to  dinner  found  uncle  Cook  at  Mr.  Moffatts. 


32  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Think  I  shall  attend  prayer  meeting  this  evening.  I  love  these 
prayer  meetings.  Mr.  Spear  always  there  with  something  beautiful 
and  instructive  to  say.  And  the  Savior  always  there  to  bless  us, 
and  to  strengthen  us.  And  I  feel  I  am  blessed  and  profited  every 
time  that  I  attend.  Tuesday  June  3rd  Feel  sad  this  evening,  have 
a  hard  headache  pain  in  the  chest,  and  cough  some.  Think  Con 
sumption's  meagre  hand  is  feeling  for  my  heart  strings.  Oh  that  I 
may  be  spared  a  little  longer,  though  unworthy  of  life  on  earth  and 
how  much  more  unfit  to  live  in  Heaven.  Oh  Heavenly  Father  wash 
me  clean  in  the  blood  of  thy  precious  son,  and  fit  me  for  life,  or 
death.  I  have  desired  to  get  for  me  a  name  that  would  not  be  for 
gotten,  when  my  body  was  moldered  into  dust.  Vain  desire !  better 
to  have  a  name  in  the  Lambs  Book  of  Life.  Earth  may  forget  me, 
but  Oh  my  Savior!  do  not  Thou  forget  me  and  I  shall  be  satisfied. 
Wednesday  June  4th  I  am  sitting  now  by  my  chamber  window, 
have  been  gazing  on  the  beautiful  clouds  of  crimson  and  purple,  that 
are  floating  in  the  bright  west.  How  beautiful  is  our  world  now  in 
this  sweet  month,  beautiful  flowers  beautiful  forests,  beautiful  fields, 
beautiful  birds,  and  murmuring  brooks  and  rainbows  and  clouds  and 
then  again  the  clear  blue  sky  without  clouds  or  rainbows,  or  stars, 
smiling  in  its  own  calm  loveliness  Oh  yes!  this  Earth  is  beautiful, 
and  so  exquisitely  beautiful  that  I  sometimes  feel  that  there  is  in  it 
enough  of  beauty  to  feast  my  eyes  forever.  Do  not  feel  quite  so 
badly  this  evening  as  I  did  last,  yet  I  by  no  means  feel  well. 


AN  OLD  DAGUERREOTYPE 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  NEXT  STEP. 

"  Do  the  next  thing  " — such  is  the  sage  advice  of  some 
practical  philosopher.  Had  Angeline  Stickney  failed  to 
keep  advancing  she  would  have  sunk  into  obscurity,  as  her 
sisters  did,  and  this  story  could  not  have  been  written.  But 
ambition  urged  her  forward,  in  spite  of  the  morbid  religious 
scruples  that  made  ambition  a  sin;  and  she  determined  to 
continue  her  education.  For  some  time  she  was  undecided 
whether  to  go  to  Albany,  or  to  Oberlin,  or  to  McGrawville. 
If  she  went  to  Albany,  board  would  cost  her  two  dollars  a 
week —  more  than  she  could  well  afford.  Besides,  Ruth 
could  not  accompany  her.  So  she  finally  chose  McGrawville 
— where  both  sisters  together  lived  on  the  incredibly  small 
sum  of  one  dollar  a  week — fifty  cents  for  a  room  and  twenty- 
five  cents  each  for  provisions.  As  we  shall  see,  she  met  her 
future  husband  at  McGrawville ;  and  so  it  was  not  an  alto 
gether  miserly  or  unkind  fate  that  led  her  thither. 

She  was  determined  to  go  to  college,  and  to  have  Ruth  go 
with  her.  We  may  laugh  at  the  means  she  employed  to 
raise  funds,  but  we  must  respect  the  determination.  The 
idea  of  a  young  woman's  going  about  the  country  teaching 
monochromatic  painting,  and  the  making  of  tissue-paper 
flowers!  Better  to  take  in  washing.  And  yet  there  could 
have  been  no  demand  for  a  professional  washerwoman  in 


34  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

that  part  of  the  country.  Indeed,  Ruth  and  Angeline  had 
many  a  discussion  of  the  money  problem.  One  scheme  that 
suggested  itself — whether  in  merriment  or  in  earnest  I  can 
not  say — was  to  dress  like  men  and  go  to  work  in  some  fac 
tory.  In  those  days  women's  wages  were  absurdly  small; 
and  the  burden  of  proof  and  of  prejudice  rested  on  the  young 
woman  who  maintained  her  right  to  go  to  college.  They 
saved  what  they  could  from  their  paltry  women's  wages,  and 
upon  these  meagre  savings,  after  all,  they  finally  depended ; 
for  the  monochromatic  painting  and  the  tissue-paper  flowers 
supplied  nothing  more  substantial  than  a  little  experience. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  second  and  last  journal 
kept  by  Angeline  Stickney  need  no  explanation.  The  little 
book  itself  is  mutely  eloquent.  It  is  hand-made,  and  consists 
of  some  sheets  of  writing  paper  cut  to  a  convenient  size  and 
stitched  together,  with  a  double  thickness  of  thin  brown 
wrapping  paper  for  a  cover. 

Thursday   [Jan.  8,  1852] I  intended  to  go  to  Lockport  to 

teach  painting  to-day,  but  the  stage  left  before  I  was  ready  to  go,  so 
I  came  back  home.  Ruth  and  I  had  our  daguerreotypes  taken  to-day. 
David  here  when  we  arrived  at  home  to  carry  Ruth  to  her  school. 
Friday,  Jan.  qih  Today  Mr.  Vandervort  came  up  after  the  horses 
and  sleigh  to  go  to  Mr.  Losea's.  He  said  he  would  carry  me  to 
Watertown  and  I  could  take  the  stage  for  Lockport,  but  the  stage 
had  left  about  half  an  hour  before  we  arrived  there,  so  Mr.  Vander 
vort  said  he  would  bring  me  up  in  the  evening.  We  started  after 
tea  and  arrived  here  in  safety,  but  too  late  to  do  anything  towards 
getting  a  class.  Sat.,  Jan.  loth  Mr.  Granger  the  landlord  told  me 
I  had  better  go  and  get  Miss  Cobe  to  assist  me  in  getting  a  class. 
She  called  with  me  at  several  places.  Did  not  get  much  encourage 
ment,  so  I  thought  best  to  go  to  Felts  Mills  in  the  afternoon. 
Tavern  bill  3  shillings,  fare  from  Lockport  to  the  Mills  2  s.  Arrived 
at  the  Mills  about  I  o'clock.  Proceeded  directly  to  the  village  school 


THE  NEXT  STEP.  35 

to  see  if  any  of  the  scholars  wished  to  take  lessons.  Found  two  of 
them  that  would  like  to  take  lessons.  Called  at  several  places.  Met 
with  some  encouragement.  Sunday,  nth.  Went  to  church  in  the 
afternoon.  Very  noisy  here.  Not  much  appearance  of  being  the 
Sabbath.  Monday,  I2th.  Concluded  not  to  stay  at  the  Mills.  Found 
but  three  scholars  there.  So  in  the  afternoon  I  came  up  to  the 
Great  Bend.  Several  called  this  evening  to  see  my  paintings.  Tues 
day.  Very  stormy.  Went  to  the  school  to  see  if  any  of  the  scholars 
wished  to  take  lessons  in  painting.  Found  none.  Thought  I  would 
not  stay  there  any  longer.  So  when  the  stage  came  along  in  the 
afternoon  I  got  on  board,  and  thought  I  would  stop  at  Antwerp,  but 
on  arriving  there  found  that  the  stage  was  going  to  Ogdensburgh 
this  evening.  Thought  I  would  come  as  far  as  Gouverneur.  Arrived 
at  Gouverneur  about  9  o'clock.  Put  up  at  the  Van  Buren  Hotel. 
Wednesday  14.  Quite  stormy,  so  that  I  could  not  get  out  much,  but 
went  to  Elder  Sawyer's  and  to  Mr.  Fox's.  Mr.  Clark,  the  principal 
of  the  Academy,  carried  the  paintings  to  the  hall  this  afternoon  so 
that  the  pupils  might  see  them.  Brought  them  to  me  after  school 
and  said  he  would  let  me  know  next  day  whether  any  of  the  scholars 
wished  to  take  lessons.  I  am  almost  discouraged,  yet  will  wait  with 
patience  the  decisions  of  to-morrow.  Thursday.  Pleasant  day. 
Mr.  Clark  came  down  this  morning.  Said  Miss  Wright,  the  precep 
tress,  would  like  to  take  lessons ;  and  I  found  several  others  that 
thought  they  would  take  lessons.  Found  a  boarding  place  at  Mr. 
Horr's.  The  family  consists  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horr  and  their  two 
daughters,  hired  girl  and  a  little  girl  that  they  have  adopted,  and 
seven  boarders,  besides  myself.  Sunday,  February  8th.  Have  been 
to  church  to-day.  Eld.  Sawyer  preached  in  the  forenoon.  Com 
munion  this  afternoon.  Went  to  prayer  meeting  this  evening.  Mon 
day,  9th.  Went  to  Mr.  Fox's  to-day  to  give  Miss  Goddard  a  lesson 
in  painting.  Miss  Wright  also  takes  lessons.  Tues.,  loth.  This  has 
been  a  beautiful  day.  Spring  is  coming  again.  I  hear  her  sweet 
voice,  floating  on  the  south  wind,  and  the  sound  of  her  approaching 
footsteps  comes  from  the  hills.  Have  given  Miss  Goddard  two  les 
sons  in  painting  to-day.  Wednesday,  Feb.  i8th.  Have  packed  my 
trunk  and  expect  to  leave  Gouverneur  to-morrow  morning.  Have 
received  two  letters  to-day,  one  from  Mrs.  Shea,  and  one  from 


36  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Elmina  and  Ruth.  Have  settled  with  all  my  scholars  and  with  Mrs. 
Horn  Have  eighteen  dollars  and  a  half  left.  Thursday,  I9th. 
Left  Mr.  Horr's  this  morning  for  Antwerp.  Fare  from  Gouverneur 
to  Antwerp  five  shillings.  Have  endeavored  to  get  a  class  here  to 
day.  Think  I  shall  not  succeed.  Fare  and  bill  7  and  6.  Friday, 
20th.  Came  to  North  Wilna  to-day.  Left  my  trunk  at  Mr.  Brewer's 
and  came  down  to  Mr.  Gibbs'.  Found  Mr.  Gibbs,  Electa  and 
Miranda  at  home.  It  was  seven  years  last  October  since  I 
left  North  Wilna,  yet  it  looks  quite  natural  here Thurs 
day,  March  4th.  Frederick  came  and  brought  me  to  Philadel 
phia  to-day.  Am  stopping  at  Mr.  Kirkbride's.  Think  I  shall  get 
something  of  a  class  here.  Friday.  Have  been  trying  to  get  a 
class.  Think  I  shall  get  a  class  in  flowers.  Have  $15  with  me  now. 
Sat.,  6th.  Think  I  shall  not  succeed  in  forming  a  class  here.  The 
young  ladies  seem  to  have  no  time  or  money  to  spend  except  for 
leap  year  rides.  Sunday,  7th  Went  to  the  Methodist  church  this 
forenoon.  Mr.  Blanchard  preached.  The  day  is  very  beautiful,  such 
a  day  as  generally  brings  joy  and  gladness  to  my  heart,  but  yet  I  am 
rather  sad.  I  would  like  to  sit  down  a  little  while  with  Miss  An 
nette  and  Eleanor  Wright  to  read  Mrs.  Hemans.  Those  were  gol 
den  moments  that  I  spent  with  them,  and  with  Miss  Ann  in  Gouver 
neur.  Sunday,  Apr.  4th.  It  is  now  four  weeks  since  I  have  written 
a  word  in  my  journal.  Did  not  get  a  class  in  Philadelphia,  so  I  went 
down  to  Evans  Mills.  Stayed  there  two  days  but  did  not  succeed' 
in  forming  a  class  there,  so  I  thought  best  to  go  to  Watertown. 
Fare  at  Mr.  Kirkbride's  6  s  at  Mr.  Brown's  $i.  From  Evans  Mills 
to  Watertown  $0.50.  Came  up  to  Rutland  Village  Wednesday  even 
ing,  fare  3  s.  Went  to  Mrs.  Staplin's  Tuesday.  There  was  some 
prospect  of  getting  a  class  there.  Taught  Charlotte  to  paint  and 
Albina  to  make  flowers.  Came  to  Champion  Friday  March  26th  to 
see  if  I  could  get  a  class  here.  Went  back  to  Mrs.  Staplin's  Friday 
evening.  The  next  Monday  evening  Mr.  K.  Jones  came  and  brought 
me  up  here  again.  Commenced  teaching  Wednesday  the  last  day  of 
March.  Have  four  scholars,  Miss  C.  Johnson,  Miss  C.  Hubbard, 
Miss  Mix,  and  Miss  A.  Babcock.  Have  attended  church  to-day. 
Mr.  Bosworth  preached.  Am  boarding  at  Mr.  Babcock's.  There  is 
some  snow  on  the  ground  yet,  and  it  is  very  cold  for  the  season. 


THE  NEXT  STEP.  37 

McGrawville,  May  5th,  Wed.  evening.  Yes,  I  am  in  McGrawville 
at  last  and  Ruth  is  with  me.  We  left  home  for  this  place  Apr.  22nd. 
Came  on  the  cars  as  far  as  Syracuse.  Took  the  stage  there  for 
Cortland.  Arrived  at  Cortland  about  ten  in  the  evening.  Stayed 
there  over  night.  Next  morning  about  8  o'clock  started  for  McG. 
Arrived  here  about  nine. 

Saturday,  Sept.  17  '53.  What  a  long  time  has  elapsed  since  I  have 
written  one  word  in  my  journal.  Resolve  now  to  note  down  here 
whatever  transpires  of  importance  to  me.  Am  again  at  McGraw 
ville  after  about  one  year's  absence.  Arrived  here  Tuesday  morning. 
To-day  have  entered  the  junior  year  in  New  York  Central  College. 
This  day  may  be  one  of  the  most  important  in  my  life. 

Monday,  Sept.  nth,  1854.  To-day  have  commenced  my  Senior 
year,  at  New  York  Central  College.  My  studies  are :  Calculus ; 
Philosophy,  Natural  and  Mental;  Greek,  Homer.  What  rainbow 
hopes  cluster  around  this  year. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


COLLEGE  DAYS. 

New  York  Central  College,  at  McGrawville,  Cortland 
County,  seems  to  have  been  the  forerunner  of  Cornell  Uni 
versity.  Anybody,  white  or  black,  man  or  woman,  could 
study  there.  It  was  a  stronghold  of  reform  in  general  and 
of  abolition  in  particular,  numbering  among  its  patrons  such 
men  as  John  Pierpont,  Gerrit  Smith,  and  Horace  Greeley. 
The  college  was  poor,  and  the  number  of  students  small — 
about  ninety  in  the  summer  of  1852,  soon  after  Angeline 
Stickney's  arrival.  Of  this  number  some  were  fanatics, 
many  were  idealists  of  exceptionally  high  character,  and 
some  were  merely  befriended  by  idealists,  their  chief  virtue 
being  a  black  skin.  A  motley  group,  who  cared  little  for 
classical  education,  and  everything  for  political  and  social 
reforms.  Declamation  and  debate  and  the  preparation  of 
essays  and  orations  were  the  order  of  the  day — as  was  only 
natural  among  a  group  of  students  who  felt  that  the  world 
awaited  the  proper  expression  of  their  doctrines.  And  in 
justice  be  it  said,  the  number  of  patriotic  men  and  women 
sent  out  by  this  little  college  might  put  to  shame  the  well- 
endowed  and  highly  respectable  colleges  of  the  country. 

Angeline  Stickney  entered  fully  into  the  spirit  of  the  place. 
In  a  letter  .written  in  December,  1852,  she  said : 

I  feel  very  much  attached  to  that  institution,  notwithstanding  all 
its  faults,  and  I  long  to  see  it  again,  for  its  foundation  rests  on  the 


COLLEGE  DAYS.  39 

basis  of  Eternal  Truth — and  .my  heart  strings  are  twined  around  its 
every  pillar. 

To  suit  her  actions  to  her  words,  she  became  a  woman 
suffragist  and  adopted  the  "bloomer"  costume.  It  was 
worth  something  in  those  early  days  to  receive,  as  she  did, 
letters  from  Susan  B.  Anthony  and  Horace  Greeley.  Of 
that  hard-hitting  Unitarian  minister  and  noble  poet,  John 
Pierpont,  she  wrote,  at  the  time  of  her  graduation : 

The  Rev.  John  Pierpont  is  here.  He  preached  in  the  chapel  Sun 
day  forenoon.  He  is  a  fine  looking  man.  I  wish  you  could  see  him. 
He  is  over  seventy  years  old,  but  is  as  straight  as  can  be,  and  his 
face  is  as  fresh  as  a  young  man's. 

Little  did  she  dream  that  this  ardent  patriot  would  one  day 
march  into  Washington  at  the  head  of  a  New  Hampshire 
regiment,  and  break  bread  at  her  table.  Nor  could  she  fore 
see  that  her  college  friends  Oscar  Fox  and  A.  J.  Warner 
would  win  laurels  on  the  battlefields  of  Bull  Run  and  Antie- 
tam,  vindicating  their  faith  with  their  blood.  Both  giants  in 
stature,  Captain  Fox  carried  a  minie-ball  in  his  breast  for 
forty  years,  and  Colonel  Warner,  shot  through  the  hip,  was 
saved  by  a  miracle  of  surgery.  Of  her  classmates — there 
were  only  four,  all  men,  who  graduated  with  her — she 
wrote : 

I  think  I  have  three  as  noble  class-mates  as  you  will  find  in  any 
College,  they  are  Living  Men. 

It  is  amusing  to  turn  from  college  friends  to  college 
studies — such  a  contrast  between  the  living  men  and  their 
academic  labors.  For  example,  Angeline  Stickney  took  the 
degree  of  A.  B.  in  July,  1855,  having  entered  college,  with  a 
modest  preparation,  in  April,  1852,  and  having  been  absent 
about  a  year,  from  November,  1852  to  September,  1853, 


40  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

when  she  entered  the  Junior  Class.  It  is  recorded  that  she 
studied  Virgil  the  summer  of  1852;  the  fall  of  1853,  Ger 
man,  Greek,  and  mathematical  astronomy;  the  next  term, 
Greek  and  German ;  and  the  next  term,  ending  July  12,  1854, 
Greek,  natural  philosophy,  German  and  surveying.  She  be 
gan  her  senior  year  with  calculus,  philosophy,  natural  and 
mental,  and  Anthon's  Homer,  and  during  that  year  studied 
also  Wayland's  Political  Economy  and  Butler's  Analogy. 
She  is  also  credited  with  work  done  in  declamation  and  com 
position,  and  "  two  orations  performed."  Her  marks,  as  far 
as  my  incomplete  records  show,  were  all  perfect,  save  that 
for  one  term  she  was  marked  98  per  cent  in  Greek.  Upon 
the  credit  slip  for  the  last  term  her  "  standing  "  is  marked 
"  I  " ;  and  her  "  conduct "  whenever  marked  is  always  100. 

However,  be  it  observed  that  Angeline  Stickney  not  only 
completed  the  college  curriculum  at  McGrawville,  but  also 
taught  classes  in  mathematics.  In  fact,  her  future  husband 
was  one  of  her  pupils,  and  has  borne  witness  that  she  was 
a  "  good,  careful  teacher." 

If  McGrawville  was  not  distinguished  for  high  thinking, 
it  could  at  least  lay  claim  to  plain  living.  Let  us  inquire  into 
the  ways  and  means  of  the  Stickney  sisters.  I  have  already 
stated  that  board  and  lodging  cost  the  two  together  only  one 
dollar  a  week.  They  wrote  home  to  their  mother,  soon  after 
their  arrival : 

We  are  situated  in  the  best  place  possible  for  studying  domestic 
economy.  We  bought  a  quart  of  milk,  a  pound  of  crackers,  and  a 
sack  of  flour  this  morning. 

Tuition  for  a  term  of  three  months  was  only  five  dollars ; 
and  poor  students  were  encouraged  to  come  and  earn  their 
way  through  college.  Ruth  returned  home  after  one  term, 


COLLEGE  DAYS.  41 

and  Angeline  worked  for  her  board  at  a  Professor  Kingley's, 
getting  victuals,  washing  dishes,  and  sweeping.  Even  so, 
after  two  terms  her  slender  means  were  exhausted,  and  she 
went  home  to  teach  for  a  year.  Returning  to  college  in 
September,  1853,  she  completed  the  course  in  two  years, 
breaking  down  at  last  for  lack  of  recreation  and  nourish 
ment.  Ruth  returned  to  McGrawville  in  1854,  and  wrote 
home :  "  found  Angie  well  and  in  good  spirits.  We  are 
going  to  board  ourselves  at  Mr.  Smith's."  And  Angeline 
herself  wrote :  "  My  health  has  been  quite  good  ever  since 

I  came  here.    It  agrees  with  me  to  study We  have  a 

very  pleasant  boarding  place,  just  far  enough  from  the  col 
lege  for  a  pleasant  walk." 

Angeline  was  not  selfishly  ambitious,  but  desired  her 
sister?s  education  as  well  as  her  own.  Before  the  bar  of  her 
Puritanical  conscience  she  may  have  justified  her  own  ambi 
tion  by  being  ambitious  for  her  sister.  In  the  fall  of  1853 
she  wrote  to  Ruth : 

I  hope  you  will  make  up  your  mind  to  come  out  here  to  school 
next  spring.  You  can  go  through  college  as  well  as  I.  As  soon  as  I 
get  through  I  will  help  you.  You  can  go  through  the  scientific 
course,  I  should  think,  in  two  years  after  next  spring  term  if  you 
should  come  that  term.  Then  we  would  be  here  a  year  together,  and 
you  would  get  a  pretty  good  start.  There  seems  to  be  a  way  open 
ing  for  me  to  get  into  good  business  as  soon  as  I  get  through  college. 

And  again,  in  January,  1854 : 

Ruth,  I  believe  I  am  more  anxious  to  have  you  come  to  school  than 
I  ever  was  before.  I  see  how  much  it  will  increase  your  influence, 
and  suffering  humanity  calls  for  noble  spirits  to  come  to  its  aid. 
And  I  would  like  to  have  you  fitted  for  an  efficient  laborer.  I  know 
you  have  intellect,  and  I  would  have  it  disciplined  and  polished. 
Come  and  join  the  little  band  of  reformers  here,  will  you  not?  I 
4 


42  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

want  your  society.  Sometimes  I  get  very  lonely  here,  and  I  never 
should,  if  you  were  only  here.  Tell  me  in  your  next  letter  that  you 
will  come.  I  will  help  you  all  I  can  in  every  thing. 

But  Ruth  lacked  her  sister's  indomitable  will.  She  loved 
her,  and  wished  to  be  with  her,  whether  at  home  or  at  col 
lege.  Indeed,  in  a  letter  to  Angeline  she  said  she  would 
tease  very  hard  to  have  her  come  home,  did  she  not  realize 
how  her  heart  was  set  upon  getting  an  education.  Ruth  did 
return  to  McGrawviile  in-  1854,  but  remained  only  two 
months,  on  account  of  poor  health.  The  student  fare  did  not 
agree  with  the  vigorous  Ruth,  apparently ;  and  she  now  gave 
up  further  thought  of  college,  and  generously  sought  to  help 
her  sister  what  she  could  financially. 

Though  a  dime  at  McGrawviile  was  equivalent  to  a  dol 
lar  elsewhere,  Angeline  was  much  cramped  for  money,  and 
to  complete  her  course  was  obliged  finally  to  borrow  fifty 
dollars  from  her  cousin  Joseph  Downs,  giving  her  note  pay 
able  in  one  year.  When  her  breakdown  came,  six  weeks  be 
fore  graduation,  Ruth,  like  a  good  angel,  came  and  took  her 
home.  It  was  a  case  of  sheer  exhaustion,  aggravated  by  a 
tremendous  dose  of  medicine  administered  by  a  well-meaning 
friend.  Though  she  returned  to  McGrawviile  and  graduated 
with  her  class,  even  producing  a  sorry  sort  of  poem  for  the 
commencement  exercises,  it  was  two  or  three  years  before 
she  regained  her  health.  Such  was  a  common  experience 
among  ambitious  American  students  fifty  years  ago,  before 
the  advent  of  athletics  and  gymnasiums. 

In  closing  this  chapter,  I  will  quote  a  character  sketch 
written  by  one  of  Angeline's  classmates  : 

Slate  Pencil  Sketches— No.  2.  L.  A.  C—and  C.  A.  Stickney.  Miss 
C —  is  Professor  of  Rhetoric,  and  Miss  Stickney  is  a  member  of  the 


COLLEGE  DAYS.  43 

Senior  Class,  in  N.  Y.  Central  College.  A  description  of  their  per 
sonal  appearance  may  not  be  allowable;  besides  it  could  not  be 
attracting,  since  the  element  of  Beauty  would  not  enter  largely  into 
the  sketch.  Both  are  fortunately  removed  to  a  safe  distance  from 
Beauty  of  the  Venus  type ;  though  the  truth  may  not  be  quite  apparent, 
because  the  adornments  of  mind  by  the  force  of  association  have 
thrown  around  them  the  Quakerish  veil  of  good  looks  (to  use  mod 
erate  terms),  which  answers  every  desirable  end  of  the  most  charm 
ing  attractions,  besides  effectually  saving  both  from  the  folly  of 
Pride.  Nevertheless,  the  writer  of  this  sketch  can  have  no  earthly 
object  in  concealing  his  appreciation  of  the  high  brow,  and  Nym- 
phean  make  of  the  one,  and  the  lustrous  eye  of  the  other. 

And  these  personal  characteristics  are  happily  suggestive  of  the 
marked  mental  traits  of  each.  The  intellect  of  the  one  is  subtle, 
apprehensive,  flexible,  docile ;  with  an  imagination  gay  and  discur 
sive,  loving  the  sentimental  for  the  beauty  of  it.  The  intellect  of  the 
other  is  strong  and  comprehensive,  with  an  imagination  ardent  and 
glowing,  inclined  perhaps  to  the  sentimental,  but  ashamed  to  own  it. 

However,  let  these  features  pass  for  the  moment  until  we  have 
brought  under  review  some  other  more  obvious  traits  of  character. 

Miss  C — ,  or  if  you  will  allow  me  to  throw  aside  the  Miss  and  the 
Surname,  and  say  Lydia  and  Angeline,  who  will  complain?  Lydia, 
then,  is  possessed  of  a  good  share  of  self-reliance — self-reliance  aris 
ing  from  a  rational  self-esteem.  Whether  Angeline  possesses  the 
power  of  a  proper  self-appreciation  or  not,  she  is  certainly  wanting 
in  self-reliance.  She  may  manifest  much  confidence  on  occasions, 
but  it  is  all  acquired  confidence ;  while  with  Lydia,  it  is  all  natural. 

From  this  difference  spring  other  differences.  Lydia  goes  forward 
in  public  exercises  as  though  the  public  were  her  normal  sphere.  On 
the  other  hand  Angeline  frequently  appears  embarrassed,  though  her 
unusual  powers  of  will  never  suffer  her  to  make  a  failure.  Lydia 
is  ambitious;  though  she  pursues  the  object  of  her  ambition  in  a 
quiet,  complacent  way,  and  appropriates  it  when  secured  all  as  a 
matter  of  course.  It  is  possible  with  Angeline  to  be  ambitious,  but 
not  at  once — and  never  so  naturally.  Her  ambition  is  born  of  many- 
yeared  wishes — wishes  grounded  mainly  in  the  moral  nature,  cher 
ished  by  friendly  encouragements,  ripening  at  last  into  a  settled  pur- 


44  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

pose.  Thus  springs  up  her  ambition,  unconfessed — its  triumph 
doubted  even  in  the  hour  of  fruition. 

When  I  speak  of  the  ambition  of  these  two,  I  hope  to  be  under 
stood  as  meaning  ambition  with  its  true  feminine  modifications. 
And  this  is  the  contrast : — The  ambition  of  the  one  is  a  necessity  of 
her  nature,  the  ripening  of  every  hour's  aspiration ;  while  the  ambi 
tion  of  the  other  is  but  the  fortunate  afterthought  of  an  unsophisti 
cated  wish. 

Both  the  subjects  of  this  sketch  excel  in  prose  and  poetic  compo 
sition.  Each  may  rightfully  lay  claim  to  the  name  of  poetess.  But 
Lydia  is  much  the  better  known  in  this  respect.  Perhaps  the  con 
stitution  of  her  mind  inclines  her  more  strongly  to  employ  the 
ornaments  of  verse,  in  expressing  her  thoughts ;  and  perhaps  the 
mind  of  Angeline  has  been  too  much  engrossed  in  scientific  studies 
to  allow  of  extensive  English  reading,  or  of  patient  efforts  at  elab 
oration.  Hence  her  productions  reveal  the  poet  only;  while  those  of 
her  friend  show  both  the  poet  and  the  artist.  In  truth,  Lydia  is  by 
nature  far  more  artificial  than  Angeline — perhaps  I  should  have  said 
artistic.  Every  line  of  her  composition  reveals  an  effort  at  orna 
ment.  The  productions  of  Angeline  impress  you  with  the  idea  that  the 
author  must  have  had  no  foreknowledge  of  what  kind  of  style  would 
come  of  her  efforts.  Not  so  with  Lydia.  Her  style  is  manifestly 
Calvinistic ;  in  all  its  features  it  bears  the  most  palpable  marks  of 
election  and  predestination.  Its  every  trait  has  been  subjected  to 
the  ordeal  of  choice,  either  direct  or  indirect.  You  know  it  to  be  a 
something  developed  by  constant  retouches  and  successive  admix 
tures.  Not  that  it  is  an  imitation  of  admired  authors;  yet  it  is 
plainly  the  result  of  an  imitative  nature — a  something,  not  borrowed, 
but  caught  from  a  world  of  beauties,  just  as  sometimes  a  well-defined 
thought  is  the  sequence  of  a  thousand  flitting  conceptions.  Her 
style  is  the  offspring,  the  issue  of  the  love  she  has  cherished  for  the 
beautiful  in  other  minds  yet  bearing  the  image  of  her  own. 

Not  so  witH  Angeline,  for  there  is  no  imitativeness  in  her  nature. 
Her  style  can  arise  from  no  such  commerce  of  mind,  but  the  Spirit 
of  the  Beautiful  overshadowing  her,  it  springs  up  in  its  singleness, 
and  its  genealogy  cannot  be  traced. 


COLLEGE  DAYS.  45 

But  this  contrast  of  style  is  not  the  only  contrast  resulting  from 
this  difference  in  imitation  and  in  love  of  ornament.  It  runs  through 
all  the  phases  of  their  character.  Especially  is  it  seen  in  manner, 
dress  and  speech ;  but  in  speech  more  particularly.  When  Lydia 
is  in  a  passage  of  unimpassioned  eloquence,  her  speech  reminds  you 
that  the  tongue  is  Woman's  plaything ;  while  Angeline  plies  the  same 
organ  with  as  utilitarian  an  air  as  a  housewife's  churn-dasher.  But 
pardon  this  exaggeration :  something  may  be  pardoned  to  the  spirit 
of  liberty;  and  the  writer  is  aware  that  he  is  using  great  liberties. 

To  return:  Lydia  has  a  fine  sense  of  the  ludicrous.  Her  name 
is  charmingly  appropriate,  signifying  in  the  original  playful  or  sport 
ive.  Her  laughter  wells  up  from  within,  and  gurgles  out  from  the 
corners  of  her  mouth.  Angeline  is  but  moderately  mirthful,  and'  her 
laughter  seems  to  come  from  somewhere  else,  and  shines  on  the 
outside  of  her  face  like  pale  moonlight.  In  Lydia's  mirthfulness 
there  is  a  strong  tincture  of  the  sarcastic  and  the  droll.  Angeline  at 
the  most  is  only  humorous.'  When  a  funny  thing  happens,  Lydia 
laughs  at  it — Angeline  laughs  about  it.  Lydia  might  be  giggling  all 
day  alone,  just  at  her  own  thoughts.  Angeline  I  do  not  believe  ever 
laughs  except  some  one  is  by  to  talk  the  fun.  And  in  sleep,  while 
Lydia  was  dreaming  of  jokes  and  quips,  Angeline  might  be  fighting 
the  old  Nightmare. 

After  all,  do  not  understand  me  as  saying  that  the  Professor 
C —  is  always  giggling  like  a  school-girl ;  or  that  the  Senior  Stickney 
is  apt  to  be  melancholy  and  down  in  the  mouth.  I  have  tried  to 
describe  their  feelings  relatively. 

Lydia  has  a  strong,  active  imagination,  marked  by  a  vivid  playful 
ness  of  fancy.  Her  thoughts  flow  on,  earnest,  yet  sparkling  and 
flashing  like  a  raven-black  eye.  Angeline  has  an  imagination  that 
glows  rather  than  sparkles.  It  never  scintillates,  but  gradually  its 
brightness  comes  on  with  increasing  radiance.  If  the  thoughts  of 
Lydia  flit  like  fire  flies,  the  thoughts  of  Angeline  unfold  like  the 
blowing  rose.  If  the  fancy  of  one  glides  like  a  sylph  or  tiptoes 
like  a  school-girl,  the  imagination  of  the  other  bears  on  with  more 
stateliness,  though  with  less  grace.  Lydia's  imagination  takes  its 
flight  up  among  the  stars,  it  turns,  dives,  wheels,  peers,  scrutinizes, 
wonders  and  grows  serious  and  then  fearful.  But  the  imagination 


46  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

of  the  other  takes  its  stand  like  a  maiden  by  the  side  of  a  clear  pool, 
and  gazes  down  into  the  depths  of  Beauty. 

Their  different  gifts  befit  their  different  natures.  While  one  revels 
in  delight,  the  other  is  lost  in  rapture;  while  one  is  trembling  with 
awe,  the  other  is  quietly  gazing  into  the  mysterious.  While  one  is 
worshipping  the  beautiful,  the  other  lays  hold  on  the  sublime. 
Beauty  is  the  ideal  of  the  one ;  sublimity  is  the  normal  sphere  of  the 
other.  Both  seek  unto  the  spiritual,  but  through  different  paths. 
When  the  qualities  of  each  are  displayed,  the  one  is  a  chaste  star 
shining  aloft  in  the  bright  skies;  the  other  is  a  sunset  glow,  rich  as 
gold,  but  garish  all  around  with  gray  clouds. 

ROMEO. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

COLLEGE  PRODUCTIONS. 

It  is  next  in  order  to  examine  some  of  the  literary  pro 
ductions  of  Angeline  Stickney  while  at  college.  Like  the 
literary  remains  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  they  are  of  a  strange 
and  uncertain  character.  It  would  be  easy  to  make  fun  of 
them ;  and  yet  sincerity  is  perhaps  their  chief  characteristic. 
They  are  Puritanism  brought  down  to  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury — solemn,  absurd,  almost  maudlin  in  their  religious  sen 
timentality,  and  yet  deeply  earnest  and  at  times  noble.  The 
manuscripts  upon  which  these  literary  productions  are  re 
corded  are  worn,  creased,  stained,  torn  and  covered  with 
writing — bearing  witness  to  the  rigid  economy  practiced  by 
the  writer.  The  penmanship  is  careful,  every  letter  clearly 
formed,  for  Angeline  Stickney  was  not  one  of  those  vain  per 
sons  who  imagine  that  slovenly  handwriting  is  a  mark  of 
genius. 

First,  I  will  quote  a  passage  illustrating  the  intense  loyalty 
of  our  young  Puritan  to  her  Alma  Mater : 

About  a  year  since,  I  bade  adieu  to  my  fellow  students  here,  and 
took  the  farewell  look  of  the  loved  Alma  Mater,  Central  College. 
It  was  a  "longing,  lingering  look"  for  I  thought  it  had  never 
seemed  so  beautiful  as  on  that  morning.  The  rising  sun  cast  a  flood 
of  golden  light  upon  it  making  it  glow  as  if  it  were  itself  a  sun ;  and 
so  I  thought  indeed  it  was,  a  sun  of  truth  just  risen,  a  sun  that  would 


48  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

send  forth  such  floods  of  light  that  Error  would  flee  before  it  and 
never  dare  to  come  again  with  its  dark  wing  to  brood  over  our 
land. — And  every  time  I  have  thought  of  Central  College  during  my 
absence,  it  has  come  up  before  me  with  that  halo  of  golden  light 
upon  it,  and  then  I  have  had  such  longings  to  come  and  enjoy  that 
light;  and  now  I  have  come,  and  I  am  glad  that  I  am  here.  Yes, 
I  am  glad,  though  I  have  left  my  home  with  all  its  dear  scenes  and 
loving  hearts ;  I  am  glad  though  I  know  the  world  will  frown  upon 
me,  because  I  am  a  student  of  this  unpopular  institution,  and  I  ex 
pect  to  get  the  name  that  I  have  heard  applied  to  all  who  come  here, 
"  fanatic."  I  am  glad  that  I  am  here  because  I  love  this  institution. 
I  love  the  spirit  that  welcomes  all  to  its  halls,  those  of  every  tongue, 
and  of  every  hue,  which  admits  of  "  no  rights  exclusive,"  which 
holds  out  the  cup  of  knowledge  in  it's  crystal  brightness  for  all  to 
quaff ;  and  if  this  is  fanaticism,  I  will  glory  in  the  name  "  fanatic." 
Let  me  live,  let  me  die  a  fanatic.  I  will  not  seal  up  in  my  heart  the 
fountain  of  love  that  gushes  forth  for  all  the  human  race.  And  I 
am  glad  I  am  here  because  there  are  none  here  to  say,  "thus  far  thou 
mayst  ascend  the  hill  of  Science  and  no  farther,"  when  I  have  just 
learned  how  sweet  are  the  fruits  of  knowledge,  and  when  I  can  see 
them  hanging  in  such  rich  clusters,  far  up  the  heights,  looking  so 
bright  and  golden,  as  if  they  were  inviting  me  to  partake.  And  all 
the  while  I  can  see  my  brother  gathering  those  golden  fruits,  and  I 
mark  how  his  eye  brightens,  as  he  speeds  up  the  shining  track,  laden 
with  thousands  of  sparkling  gems  and  crowned  with  bright  garlands 
of  laurel,  gathered  from  beside  his  path.  No,  there  are  none  here 
to  whisper,  "  that  is  beyond  thy  sphere,  thou  couldst  never  scale 
those  dizzy  heights";  but,  on  the  contrary,  here  are  kind  voices 
cheering  me  onward.  I  have  long  yearned  for  such  words  of  cheer, 
and  now  to  hear  them  makes  my  way  bright  and  my  heart  strong. 

C.  A.  STICKNEY. 

Next,  behold  what  a  fire-eater  this  modest  young  woman 
could  be : 

Yes,  let  the  union  be  dissolved  rather  than  bow  in  submission  to 
such  a  detestable,  abominable,  infamous  law,  a  law  in  derogation  of 


COLLEGE  PRODUCTIONS.  49 

the  genius  of  our  free  institutions,  an  exhibition  of  tyranny  and 
injustice  which  might  well  put  to  the  blush  a  nation  of  barbarians. 
Ours  is  called  a  glorious  union.  Then  is  a  union  of  robbers,  of 
pirates,  a  glorious  union;  for  to  rob  a  man  of  liberty  is  the  worst 
of  robberies,  the  foulest  of  piracies.  Let  us  just  glance  at  one  of  the 
terrible  features  of  this  law,  at  the  provision  which  allows  to  the 
commissioner  who  is  appointed  to  decide  upon  the  future  freedom  or 
slavery  of  the  fugitive  the  sum  of  ten  dollars  if  he  decides  in  favor 
of  his  slavery  and  but  five  if  in  favor  of  freedom.  Legislative 
bribery  striking  of  hands  with  the  basest  iniquity!  ....  What  are 
the  evils  that  can  accrue  to  the  nation  from  a  dissolution  of  the 
union?  Would  such  a  dissolution  harm  the  North?  No.  It  would 
be  but  a  separation  from  a  parasite  that  is  sapping  from  us  our  very 
life.  Would  it  harm  the  South?  No.  Let  them  stand  alone  and  be 
abhorred  of  all  nations,  that  they  may  the  sooner  learn  the  lesson  of 
repentance!  Would  it  harm  the  slave?  No.  Such  a  dissolution 
would  strike  the  death  blow  to  slavery.  Let  us  look:  Deut.  23, 
15  &  16:  "Thou  shalt  not  deliver  over  unto  his  master  the  servant 
which  is  escaped  from  his  master  unto  thee.  He  shall  dwell  with 
thee,  even  among  you,  in  that  place  which  he  shall  choose." — The 
law  of  God  against  the  fugitive  slave  law.  Which  shall  we  obey? 

The  passages  quoted  are  more  fraught  with  feeling  than 
any  of  the  rest  of  the  prose  selections  before  me;  and  I  will 
pass  over  most  of  them,  barely  mentioning  the  subjects. 
There  is  a  silly  and  sentimental  piece  entitled  "  Mrs.  Emily 
Judson,"  in  which  the  demise  of  the  third  wife  of  the  famous 
missionary  is  noticed.  There  is  a  short  piece  of  argumenta 
tion  in  behalf  of  a  regulation  requiring  attendance  on  public 
worship.  There  is  a  sophomoric  bit  of  prose  entitled  "  The 
Spirit  of  Song,"  wherein  we  have  a  glimpse  of  the  Garden 
of  Eden  and  its  happy  lovers.  There  is  a  piece,  without 
title,  in  honor  of  earth's  angels,  the  noble  souls  who  give 
their  lives  to  perishing  and  oppressed  humanity.  The  fol- 


50  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

lowing,  in  regard  to  modern  poetry,  is  both  true  and  well 
expressed : 

The  superficial  unchristian  doctrine  of  our  day  is  that  poetry 
flourishes  most  in  an  uncultivated  soil,  that  the  imagination  shapes 
her  choicest  images  from  the  mists  of  a  superstitious  age.  The 
materials  of  poetry  must  ever  remain  the  same  and  inexhaustible. 
Poetry  has  its  origin  in  the  nature  of  man,  in  the  deep  and  mysterious 
recesses  of  the  human  soul.  It  is  not  the  external  only,  but  the  inner 
life,  the  mysterious  workmanship  of  man's  heart  and  the  slumbering 
elements  of  passion  which  furnish  the  materials  of  poetry. 

Finally,  because  of  the  subject,  I  quote  the  following : 

The  study  of  Astronomy  gives  us  the  most  exalted  views  of  the 
Creator,  and  it  exalts  ourselves  also,  and  binds  our  souls  more 
closely  to  the  soul  of  the  Infinite.  What  wonders  does  it  reveal! 
It  teaches  that  the  earth,  though  it  seem  so  immovable,  not  only 
turns  on  its  axis,  but  goes  sweeping  round  a. great  circle  whose  miles 
are  counted  by  millions;  and  though  it  seem  so  huge,  with  its 
wide  continents  and  vast  oceans,  it  is  but  a  speck  when  compared 
with  the  manifold  works  of  God.  It  teaches  the  form,  weight,  and 
motion  of  the  earth,  and  then  it  bids  us  go  up  and  weigh  and  meas 
ure  the  sun  and  planets  and  solve  the  mighty  problems  of  their 
motion.  But  it  stops  not  here.  It  bids  us  press  upward  beyond  the 
boundary  of  our  little  system  of  worlds  up  to  where  the  star-gems 
lie  glowing  in  the  great  deep  of  heaven.  And  then  we  find  that  these 
glittering  specks  are  vast  suns,  pressing  on  in  their  shining  courses, 
sun  around  sun,  and  system  around  system,  in  harmony,  in  beauty, 
in  grandeur ;  and  as  we  view  them  spread  out  in  their  splendour  and 
infinity,  we  pause  to  think  of  Him  who  has  formed  them,  and  we 
feel  his  greatness  and  excellence  and  majesty,  and  in  contemplating 
Him,  the  most  sublime  object  in  the  universe,  our  own  souls  are 
expanded,  and  filled  with  awe  and  reverence  and  love.  And  they 
long  to  break  through  their  earthly  prison-house  that  they  may  go 
forth  on  their  great  mission  of  knowledge,  and  rising  higher  and 
higher  into  the  heavens  they  may  at  last  bow  in  adoration  and  wor 
ship  before  the  throne  of  the  Eternal. 


COLLEGE  PRODUCTIONS.  51 

To  complete  this  study  of  Angelina  Stickney's  college 
writings,  it  is  necessary,  though  somewhat  painful,  to  quote 
specimens  of  her  poetry.  For  example : 

There  was  worship  in  Heaven.     An  angel  choir, 
On  many  and  many  a  golden  lyre 
Was  hymning  its  praise.     To  the  strain  sublime 
With  the  beat  of  their  wings  that  choir  kept  time. 
etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

One  is  tempted  to  ask  maliciously,  "  Moulting  time  ?  " 
Here  is  another  specimen,  of  which  no  manuscript  copy  is 
in  existence,  its  preservation  being  due  to  the  loving  admira 
tion  of  Ruth  Stickney,  who  memorized  it : 

Clouds,  ye  are  beautiful !    I  love  to  gaze 
Upon  your  gorgeous  hues  and  varying  forms, 
When  lighted  with  the  sun  of  noon-day's  blaze, 
Or  when  ye  are  darkened  with  the  blackest  storms, 
etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

Next,  consider  this  rather  morbidly  religious  effusion  in 
blank  verse : 

I  see  thee  reaching  forth  thy  hand  to  take 

The  laurel  wreath  that  Fame  has  twined  and  now 

Offers  to  thee,  if  thou  wilt  but  bow  down 

And  worship  at  her  feet  and  bring  to  her 

The  goodly  offerings  of  thy  soul.    I  see 

Thee  grasp  the  iron  pen  to  write  thy  name 

In  everlasting  characters  upon 

The  gate  of  Fame's  fair  dome.     But  stay  thy  hand! 

Ah,  take  not  yet  the  wreath  of  Fame,  lest  thou 

Be  satisfied  with  its  false  glittering 

And  fail  to  win  a  brighter,  fairer  crown, — 

Such  crown  as  Fame's  skilled  fingers  ne'er  have  learned 

To  fashion,  e'en  a  crown  of  Life.    And  bring 

Thy  offerings,  the  first,  the  best,  and  place 


52  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Them  on  God's  altar,  and  for  incense  sweet 

Give  Him  the  freshness  of  thy  youth.    And  thus 

Thou  mayest  gain  a  never  fading  crown. 

And  wait  not  now  to  trace  thy  name  upon 

The  catalogue  of  Fame's  immortal  ones,  but  haste  thee  first 

To  have  it  writ  in  Heaven  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life. 

Pardon  this  seeming  betrayal  of  a  rustic  poetess.  For  it 
seems  like  betrayal  to  quote  such  lines,  when  she  produced 
much  better  ones.  For  example,  the  following  verses  are, 
to  my  mind,  true  and  rather  good  poetry : 

I  have  not  known  thee  long  friend, 

Yet  I  remember  thee ; 

Aye  deep  within  my  heart  of  hearts 

Shall  live  thy  memory. 

And  I  would  ask  of  thee  friend 

That  thou  wouldst  think  of  me. 

Likewise : 

I  love  to  live.    There  are  ten  thousand  cords 

Which  bind  my  soul  to  life,  ten  thousand  sweets 

Mixed  with  the  bitter  of  existence'  cup 

Which  make  me  love  to  quaff  its  mingled  wine. 

There  are  sweet  looks  and  tones  through  all  the  earth 

That  win  my  heart.    Love-looks  are  in  the  lily's  bell 

And  violet's  eye,  and  love-tones  on  the  winds 

And  waters.    There  are  forms  of  grace  which  all 

The  while  are  gliding  by,  enrapturing 

My  vision.    O,  I  can  not  guess  how  one 

Can  weary  of  the  earth,  when  ev'ry  year 

To  me  it  seems  more  and  more  beautiful ; 

When  each  succeeding  spring  the  flowers  wear 

A  fairer  hue,  and  ev'ry  autumn  on 

The  forest  top  are  richer  tints.     When  each 

Succeeding  day  the  sunlight  brighter  seems, 

And  ev'ry  night  a  fairer  beauty  shines 

From  all  the  stars.  . 


COLLEGE  PRODUCTIONS.  53 

Likewise,  this  rather  melancholy  effusion,  entitled  "  Wait 
ing  ": 

Love,  sweet  Love,  I'm  waiting  for  thee, 
And  my  heart  is  wildly  beating 
At  the  joyous  thought  of  meeting 
With  its  kindred  heart  so  dear. 
Love,  I'm  waiting  for  thee  here. 

Love,  now  I  am  waiting  for  thee. 
Soon  I  shall  not  wait  thee  more, 
Neither  by  the  open  casement, 
Nor  beside  the  open  door 
Shall  I  sit  and  wait  thee  more. 

Love,  I  shall  not  wait  long  for  thee, 
Not  upon  Time's  barren  shore, 
For  I  see  my  cheek  is  paling, 
And  I  feel  my  strength  is  failing. 
Love,  I  shall  not  wait  here  for  thee. 

Yet  in  Heaven  I  will  await  thee. 
When  I  ope  the  golden  door 
I  will  ask  to  wait  there  for  thee, 
Close  beside  Heaven's  open  door. 

There  I'll  stand  and  watch  and  listen 
Till  I  see  thy  white  plumes  glisten, 
Hear  thy  angel-pinions  sweeping 
Upward  through  the  ether  clear; 
Then,  beloved,  at  Heaven's  gate  meeting, 
This  shall  be  my  joyous  greeting, 
"  Love,  I'm  waiting  for  thee  here." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ASAPH  HALL,  CARPENTER. 

Like  many  other  impecunious  Americans  (Angeline  Stick- 
ney  included) ,  Asaph  Hall,  carpenter,  and  afterwards  astron 
omer,  came  of  excellent  family.  He  was  descended  from 
John  Hall,  of  Wallingford,  Conn.,  who  served  in  the  Pequot 
War.  The  same  John  Hall  was  the  progenitor  of  Lyman 
Hall,  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  Gover 
nor  of  Georgia.  The  carpenter's  great-grandfather,  David 
Hall,  an  original  proprietor  of  Goshen,  Conn.,  was  killed  in 
battle  near  Lake  George  on  that  fatal  8th  of  September, 
1755.*  His  grandfather,  Asaph  Hall  ist,  saw  service  in  the 
Revolution  as  captain  of  Connecticut  militia.  This  Asaph 
and  his  sister  Alice  went  from  Wallingford  about  1755,  to 
become  Hall  pioneers  in  Goshen,  Conn.,  where  they  lived  in 
a  log  house.  Alice  married;  Asaph  prospered,  and  in  1767 
built  himself  a  large  house.  He  was  a  friend  of  Ethan  Allen, 
was  with  him  at  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  and  was  one  of 
the  chief  patriots  of  Goshen.  He  saw  active  service  as  a  sol 
dier,  served  twenty-four  times  in  the  State  legislature,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  State  convention  called  to  ratify  the 
Federal  Constitution.  Hall  Meadow,  a  fertile  valley  in  the 
town  of  Goshen,  still  commemorates  his  name.  He  accumu 
lated  considerable  property,  so  that  his  only  child,  the  second 

*  See  Wallingford  Land  Records,  vol.  13,  p.  541. 


ASAPH  HALL,  CARPENTER.  55 

Asaph  Hall,  born  in  1800  a  few  months  after  his  death,  was 
brought  up  a  young  gentleman,  and  fitted  to  enter  Yale  Col 
lege.  But  the  mother  refused  to  be  separated  from  her  son, 
and  before  he  became  of  age  she  set  him  up  in  business.  His 
inheritance  rapidly  slipped  away ;  and  in  1842  he  died  in 
Georgia,  where  he  was  selling  clocks,  manufactured  in  his 
Goshen  factory. 

Asaph  Hall  3rd,  born  October  15,  1829,  was  the  eldest  of 
six  children.  His  early  boyhood  was  spent  in  easy  circum 
stances,  and  he  early  acquired  a  taste  for  good  literature. 
But  at  thirteen  he  was  called  upon  to  help  his  mother  rescue 
the  wreckage  of  his  father's  property.  Fortunately,  the 
widow,  Hannah  (Palmer)  Hall,  was  a  woman  of  sterling 
character,  a  daughter  of  Robert  Palmer,  first  of  Stonington, 
then  of  Goshen,  Conn.  To  her  Asaph  Hall  3rd  owed  in  large 
measure  his  splendid  physique ;  and  who  can  say  whether  his 
mental  powers  were  inherited  from  father  or  mother  ? 

For  three  years  the  widow  and  her  children  struggled  to 
redeem  a  mortgaged  farm.  During  one  of  these  years  they 
made  and  sold  ten  thousand  pounds  of  cheese,  at  six  cents 
a  pound.  It  was  a  losing  fight,  so  the  widow  retired  to  a 
farm  free  from  mortgage,  and  young  Asaph,  now  sixteen, 
was  apprenticed  to  Herrick  and  Dunbar,  carpenters.  He 
served  an  apprenticeship  of  three  years,  receiving  his  board 
and  five  dollars  a  month.  During  his  first  year  as  a  journey 
man  he  earned  twenty-two  dollars  a  month  and  board ;  and 
as  he  was  still  under  age  he  gave  one  hundred  dollars  of  his 
savings  to  his  mother.  Her  house  was  always  home  to  him ; 
and  when  cold  weather  put  a  stop  to  carpentry,  he  returned 
thither  to  help  tend  cattle  or  to  hunt  gray  squirrels.  For 
the  young  carpenter  was  fond  of  hunting. 


56  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

One  winter  he  studied  geometry  and  algebra  with  a  Mr. 
Rice,  principal  of  the  Norfolk  Academy.  But  he  found  he 
was  a  better  mathematician  than  his  teacher.  Indeed,  he 
had  hardly  begun  his  studies  at  McGrawville  when  he  dis 
tinguished  himself  by  solving  a  problem  which  up  to  that 
time  had  baffled  students  and  teachers  alike.  But  this  is 
anticipating. 

Massachusetts  educators  would  have  us  believe  that  a 
young  man  of  twenty-five  should  have  spent  nine  years  in 
primary  and  grammar  schools,  four  years  more  in  a  high 
school,  four  years  more  at  college,  and  three  years  more  in 
some  professional  school.  Supposing  the  victim  to  have  be 
gun  his  career  in  a  kindergarten  at  the  age  of  three,  and  to 
have  pursued  a  two-years'  course  there,  at  twenty-five  his 
education  would  be  completed.  He  would  have  finished  his 
education,  provided  his  education  had  not  finished  him. 

Now  at  the  age  of  twenty-four  or  twenty-five  Asaph  Hall 
3rd  only  began  serious  study.  He  brought  to  his  tasks  the 
vigor  of  an  unspoiled  youth,  spent  in  the  open  air.  He 
worked  as  only  a  man  of  mature  strength  can  work,  and  he 
comprehended  as  only  a  man  of  keen,  undulled  intellect  can 
comprehend.  His  ability  as  a  scholar  called  forth  the  admi 
ration  of  fellow-students  and  the  encouragement  of  teachers. 
The  astronomer  Briinnow,  buried  in  the  wilds  of  Michigan, 
far  from  his  beloved  Germany,  recognized  in  this  American 
youth  a  worthy  disciple,  and  Dr.  Benjamin  Apthorp  Gould, 
father  of  American  astronomy,  promptly  adopted  Asaph  Hall 
into  his  scientific  family. 

If  our  young  American's  experience  puts  conventional 
theories  of  education  to  the  blush,  much  more  does  his  man 
hood  reflect  upon  the  theory  that  unites  intellectuality  with 


ASAPH  HALL,  CARPENTER.  57 

personal  impurity.  The  historian  Lecky  throws  a  glamor 
over  the  loathesomeness  of  what  is  politely  known  as  the 
social  evil,  and  calls  the  prostitute  a  modern  priestess.  And 
it  is  well  known  that  German  university  students  of  these  de 
generate  days  consider  continence  an  absurdity.  Asaph  Hall 
was  as  pure  as  Sir  Gallahad,  who  sang : 

My  good  blade  carves  the  casques  of  men, 
My  tough  lance  thrusteth  sure, 
My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of  ten, 
Because  my  heart  is  pure. 

Let  it  be  conceded  that  this  untutored  American  youth  had 
had  an  excellent  course  in  manual  training — anticipating  the 
modern  fad  in  education  by  half  a  century.  However,  he 
had  never  belonged  to  an  Arts  and  Crafts  Movement,  and 
had  never  made  dinky  little  what-nots  or  other  useless  and 
fancy  articles.  He  had  spent  eight  years  at  carpenter  work ; 
three  years  as  an  apprentice  and  five  years  as  a  journeyman, 
and  he  was  a  skilful  and  conscientious  workman.  He  hand 
led  his  tools  as  only  carpenters  of  his  day  and  generation 
were  used  to  handle  them,  making  doors,  blinds,  and  window- 
sashes,  as  well  as  hewing  timbers  for  the  frames  of  houses. 
Monuments  of  his  handiwork,  in  the  shape  of  well-built 
houses,  are  to  be  seen  in  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  to 
this  day.  Like  other  young  men  of  ability,  he  was  becom 
ingly  modest,  and  his  boss,  old  Peter  Bogart,  used  to  say 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  that  of  all  the  men  in  his  employ, 
Asaph  Hall  was  the  only  one  who  didn't  know  more  than 
Peter  Bogart. 

And  yet  it  was  Asaph  Hall  who  showed  his  fellow  carpen 
ters  how  to  construct  the  roof  of  a  house  scientifically.  "  Cut 
and  try  "  was  their  rule;  and  if  the  end  of  a  joist  was  spoilt 
5' 


58  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

by  too  frequent  application  of  the  rule,  they  took  another 
joist.  But  the  young  carpenter  knew  the  thing  could  be  done 
right  the  first  time;  and  so,  without  the  aid  of  text-book 
or  instructor,  he  worked  the  problem  out,  by  the  principles  of 
projection.  The  timbers  sawed  according  to  his  directions 
fitted  perfectly,  and  his  companions  marveled. 

To  himself  the  incident  meant  much,  for  he  had  proved 
himself  more  than  a  carpenter.  His  ambition  was  aroused, 
and  he  resolved  to  become  an  architect.  But  a  kindly  Provi 
dence  led  him  on  to  a  still  nobler  calling.  In  1854  he  set  out 
for  McGrawville  thinking  that  by  the  system  of  manual 
labor  there  advertised  he  could  earn  his  way  as  he  studied. 
When  the  stage  rolled  into  town,  whom  should  he  see  but 
Angeline  Stickney,  dressed  in  her  "  bloomer  "  costume ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE. 

President  Eliot  of  Harvard  University  is  quoted  as  saying 
that  marriage  ought  to  unite  two  persons  of  the  same  re 
ligious  faith :  otherwise  it  is  likely  to  prove  unhappy.  Presi 
dent  Eliot  has  said  many  wise  things,  but  this  is  not  one  of 
them — unless  he  is  shrewdly  seeking  to  produce  bachelors 
and  spinsters  to  upbuild  his  university.  One  of  Angeline 
Stickney's  girl  friends  had  a  suitor  of  the  Universalist  de 
nomination,  and  a  very  fine  man  he  was ;  but  the  girl  and  her 
mother  belonged  to  the  Baptist  denomination,  which  was  the 
denomination  of  another  suitor,  whom  she  married  for  de 
nominational  reasons.  Abbreviating  the  word,  her  expe 
rience  proves  the  following  principle :  If  a  young  woman  be 
longing  to  the  Baptist  demnition  rejects  an  eligible  suitor 
because  he  belongs  to  the  Universalist  demnition,  she  is 
likely  to  go  to  the  demnition  bow-wows. 

For  religious  tolerance  even  in  matrimony  there  is  the  best 
of  reasons :  We  are  Protestants  before  we  are  Baptists  or 
Universalists,  Christians  before  we  are  Catholics  or  Protest 
ants,  moralists  before  we  are  Jews  or  Christians,  theists  be 
fore  we  are  Mohammedans  or  Jews,  and  human  before  every 
thing  else. 

Angeline  Stickney,  like  her  girl  friend,  was  a  sincere  Bap 
tist.  Had  joined  the  church  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  One  of 


60  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

her  classmates,  a  person  of  deeply  religious  feeling  like  her 
self,  was  a  suitor  for  her  hand.  But  she  married  Asaph  Hall, 
who  was  outside  the  pale  of  any  religious  sect,  disbelieved  in 
woman-suffrage,  wasted  little  sympathy  on  negroes,  and 
played  cards !  And  her  marriage  was  infinitely  more  fortu 
nate  than  her  friend's.  To  be  sure  she  labored  to  convert  her 
splendid  Pagan,  and  partially  succeeded;  but  in  the  end  he 
converted  her,  till  the  Unitarian  church  itself  was  too  narrow 
for  her. 

Cupid's  ways  are  strange,  and  sometimes  whimsical. 
There  was  once  a  young  man  who  made  fun  of  a  red-haired 
woman  and  used  to  say  to  his  companions,  "  Get  ready,  get 
ready,"  till  Reddy  got  him !  No  doubt  the  little  god  scored 
a  point  when  Asaph  Hall  saw  Angeline  Stickney  solemnly 
parading  in  the  "  bloomer  "  costume.  Good  humor  was  one 
of  the  young  man's  characteristics,  and  no  doubt  he  had  a 
hearty  laugh  at  the  young  lady's  expense.  But  Dan  Cupid 
contrived  to  have  him  pursue  a  course  in  geometry  taught 
by  Miss  Stickney;  and,  to  make  it  all  the  merrier,  entan 
gled  him  in  a  plot  to  down  the  teacher  by  asking  hard  ques 
tions.  The  teacher  did  not  down,  admiration  took  the  place 
of  mischief,  and  Cupid  smiled  upon  a  pair  of  happy  lovers. 

The  love-scenes,  the  tender  greetings  and  affectionate 
farewells,  the  ardent  avowals  and  gracious  answers — all 
these  things,  so  essential  to  the  modern  novel,  are  known 
only  in  heaven.  The  lovers  have  lived  their  lives  and 
passed  away.  Some  words  of  endearment  are  preserved  in 
their  old  letters — but  these,  gentle  reader,  are  none  of  your 
business. 

However,  I  may  state  with  propriety  a  few  facts  in  re 
gard  to  Angeline  Stickney's  courtship  and  marriage.  It 


COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.  61 

was  characteristic  of  her  that  before  she  became  engaged 
to  marry  she  told  Asaph  Hall  all  about  her  father.  He, 
wise  lover,  could  distinguish  between  sins  of  the  stomach 
and  sins  of  the  heart,  and  risked  the  hereditary  taint  per 
taining  to  the  former — and  this  although  she  emphasized 
the  danger  by  breaking  down  and  becoming  a  pitiable  inva 
lid.  Just  before  her  graduation  she  wrote : 

I  believe  God  sent  you  to  love  me  just  at  this  time,  that  I  might 
not  get  discouraged. 

How  very  good  and  beautiful  you  seemed  to  me  that  Saturday 
night  that  I  was  sick  at  Mr.  Porter's,  and  you  still  seem  just  the 
same.  I  hope  I  may  sometime  repay  you  for  all  your  kindness  and 
love  to  me.  If  I  have  already  brightened  your  hopes  and  added  to 
your  joy  I  am  thankful.  I  hope  we  may  always  be  a  blessing  to  each 
other  and  to  all  around  us;  and  that  the  great  object  of  our  lives 
may  be  the  good  that  we  can  do.  There  are  a  great  many  things  I 
wish  to  say  to  you,  but  I  will  not  try  to  write  them  now.  I  hope  I 
shall  see  you  again  soon,  and  then  I  can  tell  you  all  with  my  own 
lips.  Do  not  study  too  hard,  Love,  and  give  yourself  rest  and  sleep 
as  much  as  you  need. 

Yours  truly, 

A.  HALL.  C.  A.  S. 

After  her  graduation,  Mr.  Hall  accompanied  her  to  Rod 
man,  where  he  visited  her  people  a  week  or  ten  days — a 
procedure  always  attended  with  danger  to  Dan  Cupid's 
plans.  In  this  case,  it  is  said  the  young  carpenter  was 
charmed  with  the  buxom  sister  Ruth,  who  was,  in  fact,  a 
much  more  marriageable  woman  than  Angeline.  But  he 
went  about  to  get  the  engagement  ring,  which,  in  spite  of 
a  Puritanical  protest  against  such  adornment,  was  faith 
fully  worn  for  twenty  years.  At  last  the  busy  housewife 
burned  her  fingers  badly  washing  lamp-chimneys  with  car- 


62  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

bolic  acid,  and  her  astronomer  husband  filed  asunder  the 
slender  band  of  gold. 

That  the  Puritan  maiden  disdained  the  feminine  display 
by  which  less  manly  lovers  are  ensnared  is  illustrated  by  the 
following-  extract  from  a  letter  to  Mr.  Hall : 

Last  week  Wednesday  I  went  to  Saratoga.  Staid  there  till  the 
afternoon  of  the  next  day.  The  Convention  was  very  interesting. 
The  speakers  were  Rev.  Antoinette  L.  Brown,  Lucy  Stone  Blackwell, 
Ernestine  Rose,  Samuel  J.  May,  and  T.  W.  Higginson. 

The  streets  of  Saratoga  were  thronged  with  fashionables.  I  never 
saw  before  such  a  display  of  dress.  Poor  gilded  butterflies,  no 
object  in  life  but  to  make  a  display  of  their  fine  colors.  I  could  not 
help  contrasting  those  ladies  of  fashion  with  the  earnest,  noble,  work 
ing  women  who  stood  up  there  in  that  Convention,  and  with  words 
of  eloquence  urged  upon  their  sisters  the  importance  of  awaking  to 
usefulness. 

This  letter  was  written  in  August,  1855,  when  Angeline 
Stickney  was  visiting  friends  and  relatives  in  quest  of 
health.  In  the  same  letter  she  sent  directions  for  Mr.  Hall 
to  meet  her  in  Albany  on  his  way  to  McGrawville ;  but  for 
some  reason  he  failed  her,  although  he  passed  through  the 
city  while  she  was  there.  This  was  a  grievous  disappoint 
ment,  of  which  she  used  to  speak  in  after  years. 

But  in  a  few  days  they  were  together  at  McGrawville, 
where  she  remained  ten  weeks — visiting  friends,  of  course. 
November  13  she  set  out  for  Wisconsin,  hoping  to  find  em 
ployment  as  a  teacher  near  her  sister  Charlotte  Ingalls. 
Mr.  Hall  purposed  to  follow  later.  At  depots  and  hotels, 
during  the  journey  westward,  she  thought  of  the  absent 
lover,  and  sent  him  long  messages.  In  one  letter  she  said : 

One  night  I  dreamed  you  had  gone  away  somewhere,  without  let 
ting  any  one  know  where,  and  I  tried  to  find  where  you  had  gone 


COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.  63 

but  could  not.    Then  I  felt  as  miserable  as  could  be.    When  I  awoke 

it  still  seemed  a  reality You  must  be  a  good  boy  and  not  go 

away  where  I  shall  not  know  where  you  are It  makes  my 

heart  ache  to  think  what  a  long  weary  way  it  is  from  Wisconsin  to 
McGrawville. 

In  the  same  letter  she  speaks  about  lengthening  a  poem, 
so  that  the  time  occupied  in  reading  it  was  about  twenty 
minutes.  In  married  life  Mr.  Hall  rather  discouraged  his 
wife's  inclination  to  write  verses.  Is  it  possible  that  he 
flattered  her  before  marriage?  If  so,  it  was  no  more  than 
her  other  admirers  did. 

Again,  in  the  same  letter,  she  pleads  for  the  cultivation 
of  religion: 

Did  you  go  to  the  prayer-meeting  last  evening?  It  seemed  to  me 
that  you  were  there.  If  you  do  not  wish  to  go  alone  I  am  sure  Mr. 
Fox  will  go  with  you.  You  must  take  some  time,  Love,  to  think  of 
the  life  beyond  the  grave.  You  must  not  be  so  much  engaged  in  your 
studies  that  you  cannot  have  time  to  think  about  it  and  prepare 
for  it. 

About  the  middle  of  December  she  had  reached  Elkhorn, 
Wisconsin,  where  she  remained  a  fortnight  with  Elder 
Bright,  her  old  pastor.  Then  she  went  to  her  sister  Char 
lotte's,  at  Milford.  In  one  of  her  letters  from  this  place 
she  speaks  of  going  surveying.  It  seems  the  surveyor  of 
the  neighborhood  was  surprised  to  find  a  woman  who 
understood  his  business. 

In  the  latter  part  of  December,  Asaph  Hall  returned  to 
Goshen,  Conn.  Hence  the  following  letter: 

GOSHEN,  Jan.  i7th,  1856. 

DEAREST  ANGIE:  ....  I  think  of  you  a  great  deal,  Angie,  and 
sometimes  when  I  feel  how  much  better  and  holier  you  are  than  I 
am,  I  think  that  I  ought  to  go  through  with  much  trial  and  affliction 
before  I  shall  be  fitted  for  your  companion.  In  this  way  I  presume 


64  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

that  my  letters  have  been  shaded  by  my  occasional  sad  thoughts. 
But  Angie  you  must  not  let  them  affect  you  any  more,  or  cherish 
gloomy  thoughts  about  me.  I  would  not  drive  the  color  from  your 
cheek  or  give  you  one  bad  thought  concerning  me  for  the  world.  I 
want,  very  much,  to  see  you  look  healthy  and  strong  when  I  meet 

you Every  time  I  go  away  from  home,  among  strangers,  I 

feel  my  need  of  you.  My  friends  here,  even  my  sisters,  seem  cold 
and  distant  when  compared  with  you.  O  there  is  no  one  like  the  dear 
one  who  nestles  in  our  hearts,  and  loves  us  always.  My  mother 
loves  me,  and  is  very  dear  to  me,  and  my  sisters  too,  but  then  they 
have  so  many  other  things  to  think  about  that  their  sympathies  are 
drawn  towards  other  objects.  I  must  have  you,  Angie,  to  love  me, 
and  we  will  find  a  good  happy  home  somewhere,  never  fear.  And 
now  you  must  be  cheerful  and  hopeful,  try  to  get  rid  of  your  head 
aches,  and  healthy  as  fast  as  you  can You  must  remember 

that  I  love  you  very  much,  and  that  with  you  life  looks  bright  and 
hopeful,  while  if  I  should  lose  you  I  fear  that  I  should  become  sour 
and  disheartened,  a  hater  of  my  kind.  May  God  bless  you,  Angie. 

Yours  Truly, 

A.  HALL. 

The  next  month  Mr.  Hall  was  in  Milford,  Wisconsin, 
whence  he  wrote  to  Angeline's  mother  as  follows : 

MILFORD,  WISCONSIN,  Feb.  28th. 

DEAR   MRS.    WOODWARD:  ....  I   find   Angeline   with   her  health 

much   improved We   expect   to  be   married   some   time  this 

spring.  I  fear  that  I  shall  fail  to  fulfil  the  old  rule,  which  says  that 
a  man  should  build  his  house  before  he  gets  his  wife,  and  shall  com 
mence  a  new  life  rather  poor  in  worldly  goods.  But  then  we  know 
how,  and  are  not  ashamed  to  work,  and  feel  trustful  of  the  future. 
At  least,  I  am  sure  that  we  shall  feel  stronger,  and  better  fitted  to 
act  an  honorable  part  in  life,  when  we  are  living  together,  and 
encouraging  each  other,  than  we  could  otherwise.  I  know  that  this 
will  be  the  case  with  myself,  and  shall  try  to  make  it  so  with 
Angeline. 

Yours  Sincerely, 

ASAPH  HALL. 


COURTSHIP  AND  MARRIAGE.  65 

This  hardly  sounds  like  the  epistle  of  a  reluctant  lover; 
and  yet  tradition  says  the  young  carpenter  hesitated  to 
marry;  and  for  a  brief  season  Angeline  Stickney  remem 
bered  tearfully  that  other  McGrawville  suitor  who  loved 
her  well,  but  whose  bashful  love  was  too  tardy  to  forestall 
the  straightforward  Mr.  Hall.  "  The  course  of  true  love 
never  did  run  smooth."  In  this  case,  the  trouble  seems  to 
have  been  the  lady's  feeble  Health.  When  they  were  married 
she  was  very  weak,  and  it  looked  as  if  she  could  not  live 
more  than  two  or  three  years.  But  her  mental  powers  were 
exceptionally  strong,  and  she  remembered  tenaciously  for 
many  a  year  the  seeming  wrong. 

However,  under  date  of  April  2,  1856,  Angeline  wrote  to 
her  sister  Mary,  from  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan: 

Mr.  Hall  and  I  went  to  Elder  Bright's  and  staid  over  Sunday. 
We  were  married  Monday  morning,  and  started  for  this  place  in  the 
afternoon.  Mr.  Hall  came  here  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  his 
studies.  We  have  just  got  nicely  settled.  Shall  remain  here  during 
the  summer  term,  and  perhaps  three  or  four  years. 

And  so  Asaph  Hall  studied  astronomy  under  the  famous 
Briinnow,  and  French  under  Fasquelle.  And  he  used  to 
carry  his  frail  wife  on  his  back  across  the  fields  to  hunt  wild 
flowers. 


CHAPTER  X. 


ANN  ARBOR  AND  SHALERSVILLE. 

Do  you  know  the  beautiful  legend  of  St.  Christopher,  the 
strong  man  who  served  his  masters  well,  but  was  dissatisfied 
in  their  service  until  he  heard  of  the  Lord  and  Master  Jesus 
Christ? — how  he  then  served  gladly  at  a  ford,  carrying  pil 
grims  across  on  his  back — how  one  day  a  little  child  asked 
to  be  carried  across,  and  perching  on  his  broad  shoulders 
grew  heavier  and  heavier  till  the  strong  man  nearly  sank 
beneath  the  weight?  But  he  struggled  manfully  over  the 
treacherous  stones,  and  with  a  supreme  effort  bore  his 
charge  safely  through  the  waters.  And  behold,  the  little 
child  was  Christ  himself! 

I  think  of  that  legend  when  I  think  of  the  poor  ambitious 
scholar,  literally  saddled  by  his  invalid  wife.  For  three 
years  he  hardly  kept  his  head  above  water.  At  one  time  he 
thought  he  could  go  no  further,  and  proposed  that  she  stay 
with  his  mother  while  he  gained  a  better  footing.  But  she 
pleaded  hard,  and  he  struggled  through,  to  receive  the  re 
ward  of  duty  nobly  done. 

They  remained  at  Ann  Arbor  about  three  months.  But 
in  that  time  Asaph  Hall  had  made  so  favorable  an  impres 
sion  that  Professor  Briinnow  urged  him  to  continue  his 
studies,  and  arranged  matters  so  that  he  might  attend  col 
lege  at  Ann  Arbor  as  long  as  he  chose  without  paying  tui 
tion  fees.  Angeline  made  plans  for  her  sister  Ruth  and 


ANN  ARBOR  AND  SHALERSVILLE.  67 

husband  to  move  to  Michigan,  where  Asaph  could  build 
them  a  house. 

But  a  living  for  two  must  be  provided.  They  went  south 
ward  into  Ohio,  where  they  spent  a  month  with  Angeline's 
Aunt  Achsah  Taylor,  her  mother's  sister.  You  may  be 
sure  they  earned  their  board,  Angeline  in  the  house  and 
Asaph  in  the  hayfield.  Uncle  Taylor  was  a  queer  old  fel 
low,  shedding  tears  when  his  hay  got  wet,  and  going  off  to 
the  hotel  for  dinner  when  his  wife  happened  to  give  him 
the  wrong  end  of  a  fish. 

August  6,  1856,  they  arrived  at  Shalersville,  Ohio,  where 
they  had  engaged  to  teach  at  the  Shalersville  Institute. 
Here  they  remained  till  about  May  I  of  the  next  year,  when 
Angeline  returned  to  Rodman  with  funds  enough  to  pay 
with  interest  the  money  borrowed  from  her  cousin  Joseph 
Downs;  and  Asaph  proceeded  to  Cambridge,  Mass.,  where 
the  director  of  the  Harvard  Observatory  was  in  need  of  an 
assistant. 

Let  it  not  be  inferred  that  teaching  at  Shalersville  was 
financially  profitable.  Asaph  Hall  concluded  that  he  pre 
ferred  carpentry.  And  yet,  in  the  best  sense  they  were  most 
successful — things  went  smoothly — their  pupils,  some  of 
them  school  teachers,  were  apt — and  they  were  well  liked 
by  the  people  of  Shalersville.  Indeed,  to  induce  them  to 
keep  school  the  last  term  the  townspeople  presented  them 
with  a  purse  of  sixty  dollars  to  eke  out  their  income.  Asaph 
Hall  turned  his  mechanical  skill  to  use  by  making  a  prism, 
a  three-sided  receptable  of  glass  filled  with  water.  Satur 
days  he  held  a  sort  of  smoke- talk  for  the  boys — the  smoke 
feature  absent — and  at  least  one  country  boy  was  inspired 
to  step  up  higher.  The  lad  became  a  civil  engineer. 


68  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

The  little  wife  was  proud  of  her  manly  husband,  as  the 
following  passage  from  a  letter  to  her  sister  Ruth  shows : 

He  is  real  good,  and  we  are  very  happy.  He  is  a  real  noble,  true 
man  besides  being  an  extra  scholar,  so  you  must  never  be  concerned 
about  my  not  being  happy  with  him.  He  will  take  just  the  best  care 
of  me  that  he  possibly  can. 

It  appears  also  that  she  was  converting  her  husband  to 
the  profession  of  religion.  Before  he  left  Ohio  he  actually 
united  with  the  Campbellites,  and  was  baptized.  In  the 
letter  just  quoted  Angeline  says: 

We  have  been  reading  some  of  the  strongest  arguments  against  the 
Christian  religion,  also  several  authors  who  support  religion,  and  he 
has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  all  the  argument  is  on  the  side  of 
Christianity. 

She  looked  after  his  physical  welfare,  also.  When  he 
was  threatened  with  a  severe  fever,  she  wrapped  him  up  in 
hot,  wet  blankets,  and  succeeded  in  throwing  the  poison  off 
through  the  pores  of  the  skin.  So  they  cherished  each 
other  in  sickness  and  in  health. 

Angeline's  cousin  Mary  Gilman,  once  a  student  at 
McGrawville,  came  to  Shalersville  seeking  to  enlarge  the 
curriculum  of  the  institute  with  a  course  in  fine  arts.  She 
hindered  more  than  she  helped,  and  in  January  went  away — 
but  not  till  she  had  taught  Angeline  to  paint  in  oil. 

The  old  home  ties  were  weakening.  News  came  of  the 
death  of  Joseph  Downs,  and  Angeline  wrote  to  her  aunt,  his 
mother : 

He  always  seemed  like  a  brother  to  me.  I  remember  all  our  long 
walks  and  rides  to  school.  How  kind  it  was  in  him  to  carry  me  all 
that  cold  winter.  Then  our  rides  to  church,  and  all  the  times  we  have 
been  together I  can  send  you  the  money  I  owed  him  any  time. 


ANN  ARBOR  AND  SHALERSVILLE.  69 

....  I  never  can  be  enough  obliged  to  him  for  his  kindness  in  lend 
ing  me  that  money,  and  I  wished  to  see  him  very  much,  that  I  might 
tell  him  how  thankful  I  felt  when  he  sent  it  to  me. 

Her  sister  Ruth  wrote: 

Sweet  sister,  I  am  so  very  lonely.  It  would  do  me  so  much  good 
to  tell  you  all  I  wish.  I  have  never  found  ....  one  so  willing  to 
share  all  my  grief  and  joy. 

But  when  Angeline  did  at  length  return  to  Rodman, 
Ruth's  comfort  must  have  been  mixed  with  pain.  A  letter 
to  Asaph  tells  the  story : 

It  is  almost  dark,  but  I  wish  to  write  a  few  words  to  you  before  I 
go  to  bed.  I  have  had  one  of  those  bad  spells  of  paralysis  this  after 
noon,  so  that  I  could  not  speak  for  a  minute  or  two I  do  not 

know  what  is  to  become  of  me.  If  I  had  some  quiet  little  room  with 
you  perhaps  I  might  get  strength  slowly  and  be  good  for  something 

after  awhile I  do  not  mourn  much  for  the  blasting  of  my  own 

hopes  of  usefulness  ;  but  I  can  not  bear  to  be  the  canker  worm  destroy 
ing  all  your  beautiful  buds  of  promise. 

She  remained  in  poor  health  a  long  time — so  thin  and 
pale  that  old  acquaintances  hardly  knew  her.  She  wrote : 

I  feel  something  as  a  stranger  feels  in  a  strange  land  I  guess.  This 
makes  me  turn  to  you  with  all  the  more  love.  My  home  is  where 
you  are. 


CHAPTER  XL 


STRENUOUS  TIMES. 

They  had  left  Shalersville  resolved  that  Asaph  should 
continue  his  studies,  but  undecided  where  to  go.  Professor 
Briinnow  invited  him  to  Ann  Arbor;  and  Mr.  Bond,  direc 
tor  of  the  Harvard  College  Observatory,  encouraged  him 
to  go  there.  Besides,  the  famous  mathematician  Benjamin 
Peirce  taught  at  Harvard.  Not  till  they  reached  Cleveland 
was  the  decision  made.  The  way  West  was  barred  by  a 
storm  on  Lake  Erie,  and  Angeline  said,  "  Let's  go  East." 

So  she  returned  to  Rodman  for  a  visit,  while  her  husband 
set  out  for  Harvard  University.  Fifty  years  and  more  have 
passed  since  then.  Their  four  sons  have  long  since  gradu 
ated  at  Harvard,  and  growing  grandchildren  are  turning 
their  eyes  thither.  Mr.  Hall  talked  with  Professors  Peirce 
and  Bond,  and  with  the  dean  of  the  faculty,  Professor  Hos- 
ford.  All  gave  him  encouragement,  and  he  proceeded  to 
Plymouth  Hollow,  Conn.,  now  called  Thomaston,  to  earn 
money  enough  at  carpentry  to  give  him  a  start.  He  earned 
the  highest  wages  given  to  carpenters  at  that  time,  a  dollar 
and  a  half  a  day;  but  his  wife's  poor  health  almost  dis 
couraged  him.  On  May  19,  1857,  ne  wrote  her  as  follows : 

I  get  along  very  well  with  my  work,  and  try  to  study  a  little  in  the 

evenings,  but  find  it  rather  hard  business  after  a  day's  labor 

I  don't  fairly  know  what  we  had  better  do,  whether  I  had  better 


STRENUOUS  TIMES.  71 

keep  on  with  my  studies  or  not.  It  would  be  much  pleasanter  for 
you,  I  suppose,  were  I  to  give  up  the  pursuit  of  my  studies,  and  try 
to  get  us  a  home.  But  then,  as  I  have  no  tact  for  money-making  by 
speculation,  and  it  would  take  so  long  to  earn  enough  with  my  hands 
to  buy  a  home,  we  should  be  old  before  it  would  be  accomplished, 
and  in  this  case,  my  studies  would  have  to  be  given  up  forever.  I 
do  not  like  to  do  this,  for  it  seems  to  me  that  with  two  years'  more 
study  I  can  attain  a  position  in  which  I  can  command  a  decent 
salary.  Perhaps  in  less  time,  I  can  pay  my  way  at  Cambridge,  either 
by  teaching  or  by  assisting  in  the  Observatory.  But  how  and  where 
we  shall  live  during  the  two  years  is  the  difficulty.  I  shall  try  to 
make  about  sixty  dollars  before  the  first  of  August.  With  this 
money  I  think  that  I  could  stay  at  Cambridge  one  year  and  might 
possibly  find  a  situation  so  that  we  might  make  our  home  there. 

But  I  think  that  it  is  not  best  that  we  should  both  go  to  Can> 
bridge  with  so  little  money,  and  run  the  risk  of  my  finding  employ 
ment.  You  must  come  here  and  stay  with  our  folks  until  I  get 
something  arranged  at  Cambridge,  and  then,  I  hope  that  we  can  have 

a  permanent  home Make  up  your  mind  to  be  a  stout-hearted 

little  woman  for  a  couple  of  years.  Come  to  Conn,  as  soon  as  you 
are  ready. 

Yours, 

ASAPH  HALL. 

But  Angeline  begged  to  go  to  Cambridge  with  him,  al 
though  she  wrote : 

These  attacks  are  so  sudden,  I  might  be  struck  down  instantly,  or 
become  helpless  or  senseless. 

About  the  first  of  July  she  went  to  Goshen,  Conn.,  to  stay 
with  his  mother,  in  whom  she  found  a  friend.  Though  very 
delicate,  she  was  industrious.  Her  husband's  strong  twin 
sisters  wondered  how  he  would  succeed  with  such  a  poor, 
weak  little  wife.  But  Asaph's  mother  assured  her  son  that 
their  doubts  were  absurd,  as  Angeline  accomplished  as  much 
as  both  the  twins  together. 


72  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  1857, 
Asaph  Hall  arrived  in  Cambridge  with  fifty  dollars  in  his 
pocket  and  an  invalid  wife  on  his  arm.  Mr.  George  Bond, 
son  of  the  director  of  the  observatory,  told  him  bluntly  that 
if  he  followed  astronomy  he  would  starve.  He  had  no 
money,  no  social  position,  no  friends.  What  right  had  he 
and  his  delicate  wife  to  dream  of  a  scientific  career?  The 
best  the  Harvard  Observatory  could  do  for  him  the  first 
six  months  of  his  stay  was  to  pay  three  dollars  a  week  for 
his  services.  Then  his  pay  was  advanced  to  four  dollars. 
Early  in  1858  he  got  some  extra  work — observing  moon- 
culminations  in  connection  with  Col.  Joseph  E.  Johnston's 
army  engineers.  For  each  observation  he  received  a  dollar ; 
and  fortune  so  far  favored  the  young  astronomer  that  in 
the  month  of  March  he  made  twenty-three  such  observa 
tions.  His  faithful  wife,  as  regular  as  an  alarm  clock, 
would  waken  him  out  of  a  sound  sleep  and  send  him  off  to 
the  observatory.  In  1858,  also,  he  began  to  eke  out  his  in 
come  by  computing  almanacs,  earning  the  first  year  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars ;  but  competition  soon  made 
such  work  unprofitable.  In  less  than  a  year  he  had  won  the 
respect  of  Mr.  George  Bond  by  solving  problems  which 
that  astronomer  was  unable  to  solve;  and  at  length,  in  the 
early  part  of  1859,  upon  the  death  of  the  elder  Bond,  his 
pay  was  raised  to  four  hundred  dollars  a  year.  He  had  won 
the  fight. 

After  his  experience  such  a  salary  seemed  quite  munificent. 
The  twin  sisters  visited  Cambridge  and  were  much  dissatis 
fied  with  Asaph's  poverty.  They  tried  to  persuade  Ange- 
line  to  make  him  go  into  some  more  profitable  business. 
Mr.  Sibley,  college  librarian,  observing  his  shabby  overcoat 


STRENUOUS  TIMES.  73 

and  thin  face,  exclaimed,  "  Young  man,  don't  live  on  bread 
and  milk !  "  The  young  man  was  living  on  astronomy,  and 
his  delicate  wife  was  aiding  and  abetting  him.  In  less  than 
a  year  after  his  arrival  at  Cambridge,  he  had  become  a  good 
observer.  He  had  learned  to  compute.  He  was  pursuing 
his  studies  with  great  ardor.  He  read  Brunnow's  Astron 
omy  in  German,  which  language  his  wife  taught  him  morn 
ings  as  he  kindled  the  fire.  In  1858  he  was  reading  Gauss's 
Theoria  Motus. 

Angeline  was  determined  her  husband  should  make  good 
use  of  the  talents  God  had  given  him.  She  was  courageous 
as  only  a  Puritan  can  be.  In  domestic  economy  she  was 
unsurpassed.  Husband  and  wife  lived  on  much  less  than 
the  average  college  student  requires.  She  mended  their 
old  clothes  again  and  again,  turning  the  cloth;  and  econo 
mized  with  desperate  energy. 

At  first  they  rented  rooms  and  had  the  use  of  the  kitchen 
in  a  house  on  Concord  Avenue,  near  the  observatory.  But 
their  landlady  proving  to  be  a  woman  of  bad  character,  after 
eight  or  nine  months  they  moved  to  a  tenement  house  near 
North  Avenue,  where  they  lived  a  year.  Here  they  sub-let 
one  of  their  rooms  to  a  German  pack-peddler,  a  thrifty  man, 
free-thinker  and  socialist,  who  was  attracted  to  Mrs.  Hall 
because  she  knew  his  language.  He  used  to  argue  with  her, 
and  to  read  to  her  from  his  books,  until  finally  she  refused 
to  listen  to  his  doctrines,  whereupon  he  got  very  angry,  paid 
his  rent,  and  left. 

One  American  feels  himself  as  good  as  another — if  not 

better — especially  when  brought  up  in  a  new  community. 

But  Cambridge  was  settled  long  ago,  and  social  distinctions 

are  observed  there.     It  was  rather  exasperating  to  Asaph 

6 


74  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Hall  and  his  wife  to  be  snubbed  and  ignored  and  meanly 
treated  because  they  were  poor  and  without  friends.  Even 
their  grocer  seemed  to  snub  them,  sending  them  bad  eggs. 
You  may  be  sure  they  quit  him  promptly,  finding  an  honest 
grocer  in  Cambridgeport,  a  Deacon  Holmes. 

There  is  a  great  advantage  in  obscurity.  Relieved  of 
petty  social  cares  and  distractions  a  man  can  work.  Mrs. 
Hall,  writing  to  her  sister  Mary,  February  4,  1859,  declared 
her  husband  was  "  getting  to  be  a  grand  scholar : 

....  A  little  more  study  and  Mr.  Hall  will  be  excelled  by  few  in 
this  country  in  his  department  of  science.  Indeed  that  is  the  case 
now,  though  he  is  not  very  widely  known  yet. 

In  another  letter,  dated  December  15,  1858,  she  wrote: 

People  are  beginning  to  know  something  of  Mr.  Hall's  worth  and 
ability. 

May  4,  1858  she  wrote : 

Mr.  Hall  has  just  finished  computing  the  elements  of  the  orbit  of 
one  [a  comet]  which  have  been  published  neatly  in  the  Astronomical 
Journal. 

And  thus  Dr.  B.  A.  Gould,  editor  of  the  Journal,  became 
acquainted  with  the  young  astronomer  who  was  afterward 
his  firm  friend  and  his  associate  in  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences. 

Merit  wins  recognition — recognition  of  the  kind  which  is 
worth  while.  It  was  not  many  months  before  the  Halls 
found  friends  among  quiet,  unassuming  people,  and  formed 
friendships  that  lasted  for  life.  It  was  worth  much  to  be 
come  acquainted  with  Dr.  Morrill  Wyman,  their  physician. 
In  a  letter  of  February  4,  1859,  already  cited,  Mrs.  Hall 
wrote:  "  Mr.  Hall  and  I  have  both  had  some  nice  presents 


STRENUOUS  TIMES.  75 

this  winter,"  and  she  mentions  a  Mrs.  Wright  and  a  Mr. 
Pritchett  as  donors.  This  Mr.  Pritchett,  an  astronomer 
clergyman  from  Missouri,  was  the  father  of  Dr.  Henry  S. 
Pritchett,  a  recent  president  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute 
of  Technology.  Mr.  Hall  had  given  him  some  assistance  in 
his  studies ;  and  twenty  years  afterward  Henry  S.  Pritchett, 
the  son,  became  a  member  of  the  Hall  family. 

"  We  are  having  a  holiday,"  wrote  Mrs.  Hall,  on  the  first 
May-day  spent  in  Cambridge ;  "  the  children  are  keeping 
May-day  something  like  the  old  English  fashion.  It  is  a 
beautiful  day,  the  warmest  we  have  had  this  spring.  Mr. 
Hall  and  I  have  been  Maying.  Got  some  dandelions,  and 
blossoms  of  the  soft  maple.  Have  made  quite  a  pretty  bou 
quet."  The  tone  of  morbidness  was  beginning  to  disappear 
from  her  letters,  for  her  health  was  improving.  Her  relig 
ious  views  were  growing  broader  and  more  reasonable,  also. 
To'o  poor  to  rent  a  pew  in  any  of  the  churches,  she  and  her 
husband  attended  the  college  chapel,  where  they  heard  the 
Rev.  F.  D.  Huntington.  In  the  following  poem,  suggested 
by  one  of  his  sermons,  she  seems  to  embody  the  heroic  ex 
perience  of  those  early  days  in  Cambridge : 

"  THE  MOUNTAINS  SHALL  BRING  PEACE." 

O  grand,  majestic  mountain!  far  extending 

In  height,  and  breadth,  and  length,— 
Fast  fixed  to  earth  yet  ever  heavenward  tending, 

Calm,  steadfast  in  thy  strength ! 

Type  of  the  Christian,  thou ;  his  aspirations 

Rise  like  thy  peaks  sublime. 
The  rocks  immutable  are  thy  foundations, 

His,  truths  defying  time. 


•  76  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Like  thy  brpad  base  his  love  is  far  outspreading; 

He  scatters  blessings  wide, 
Like  the  pure  springs  which  are  forever  shedding 

Sweet  waters  down  thy  side. 

"  The  mountains  shall  bring  peace," — a  peace  transcending 

The  peace  of  sheltered  vale; 
Though  there  the  elements  ne'er  mix  contending, 

And  its  repose  assail, 

Yet  'tis  the  peace  of  weakness,  hiding,  cow'ring  ;— 

While  thy  majestic  form 
In  peerless  strength  thou  liftest,  bravely  tow'ring 

Above  the  howling  storm. 

And  there  thou  dwellest,  robed  in  sunset  splendor, 

Up  'mid  the  ether  clear, 
Midst  the  soft  moonlight  and  the  starlight  tender 

Of  a  pure  atmosphere. 

So,  Christian  soul,  to  thy  low  states  declining, 

There  is  no  peace  for  thee; 
Mount  up !  mount  up  !  where  the  calm  heavens  are  shining, 

Win  peace  by  victory !  . 

What  giant  forces  wrought,  O  mount  supernal ! 

Back  in  the  early  time, 
In  building,  balancing  thy  form  eternal 

With  potency  sublime ! 

O  soul  of  mightier  force,  thy  powers  awaken ! 

Work,  sovereign  energy ! 
Build  thou  foundations  which  shall  stand  unshaken 

When  heaven  and  earth  shall  flee. 


A 

OF  THE 

IVERSITY 

JTRENUOUS  TIMES.  77 

O  Mount !  thy  heart  with  earthquake  shocks  was  rifted, 

With  red  fires  melted  through, 
And  many  were  the  mighty  throes  which  lifted 

Thy  head  into  the  blue. 

Let  Calv'ry  tell,  dear  Christ !  the  sacrificing 

By  which  thy  peace  was  won; 
And  the  sad  garden  by  what  agonizing 

The  world  was  overcome. 

Then  Christian  soul !  throughout  thy  grand  endeavor 

Pray  not  that  trials  cease ! 
'Tis  these  that  lift  thee  into  Heaven  forever, 

The  Heaven  of  perfect  peace. 


It  was  the  eve  of  the  Civil  War.  The  young  astronomer 
and  his  wife  used  to  attend  the  Music  Hall  meetings  in 
Boston,  where  Sumner,  Garrison,  Theodore  Parker,  and 
Wendell  Phillips  thundered  away.  On  one  occasion,  after 
Lincoln's  election,  Phillips  spoke  advocating  disunion.  The 
crowd  was  much  excited,  and  threatened  to  mob  him.  "  Hur 
rah  for  old  Virginny !  "  they  yelled.  Phillips  was  as  calm 
as  a  Roman ;  but  it  was  necessary  to  form  a  body-guard  to 
escort  him  home.  Asaph  Hall  was  a  six-footer,  and  be 
lieved  in  fair  play;  so  he  joined  the  little  knot  of  men  who 
bore  Phillips  safely  through  the  surging  crowd.  In  after 
years  he  used  to  tell  of  Phillips'  apparent  unconcern,  and  of 
his  courteous  bow  of  thanks  when  arrived  at  his  doorstep. 

Angeline  Hall  had  an  adventure  no  less  interesting.  She 
became  acquainted  with  a  shrewd  old  negress,  called  Moses, 
who  had  helped  many  slaves  escape  North,  stirring  up  mobs, 
when  necessary,  to  free  the  fugitives  from  the  custody  of 


78  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

officers.  One  day  she  went  with  Moses  to  call  upon  the  poet 
Lowell.  He  treated  them  very  kindly.  Was  glad  to  have  a 
chat  with  the  old  woman,  and  smilingly  asked  her  if  it  did 
not  trouble  her  conscience  to  resist  the  law.  Moses  was 
ready  to  resist  the  law  again,  and  Lowell  gave  her  some 
money. 

Superstitious  people  hailed  the  advent  of  Donati's  comet 
as  a  sign  of  war — and  Angeline  Hall  was  yet  to  mourn  the 
loss  of  friends  upon  the  battlefield.  But  hoping  for  peace 
and  loving  astronomy,  she  published  the  following  verses  in 
a  local  newspaper: 

DONATI'S  COMET. 

O,  not  in  wrath  but  lovingly, 

In  beauty  pure  and  high, 
Bright  shines  the  stranger  visitant, 

A  glory  in  our  sky. 

No  harbinger  of  pestilence 

Nor  battle's  fearful  din ; 
Then  open  wide,  ye  gates  of  heaven, 

And  let  the  stranger  in. 

It  seems  a  spirit  visible 

Through  some  diviner  air, 
With  burning  stars  upon  her  brow 

And  in  her  shining  hair. 

Through  veil  translucent,  luminous 

Shines  out  her  starry  face, 
And  wrapped  in  robes  of  light  she  glides 

Still  through  the  silent  space. 


STRENUOUS  TIMES.  79 

Ye  everlasting  stars  shine  on ! 

And  fill  till  it  o'errun 
Thy  silver  horn  thou  ancient  moon, 

From  fountains  of  the  sun ! 


But  open  wide  the  golden  gates 
Into  your  realm  of  Even, 

And  let  the  angel  presence  pass 
In  glory  through  the  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


LOVE  IN  A  COTTAGE. 

Miss  Sarah  Waitt,  a  Cambridge  school-teacher  of  beauti 
ful  character,  and  firm  friend  of  Angeline  Hall,  once  said, 
after  an  acquaintance  of  thirty  years  or  more,  that  she  had 
never  known  of  a  happier  married  life  than  that  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hall.  And  yet  these  lovers  quarreled! 

The  husband  was  opposed  to  woman  suffrage.  He 
opposed  his  wife's  writing  poetry — not  from  an  aversion  to 
poetry,  but  because  poetry  inferior  to  the  best  is  of  little 
value.  The  wife,  accustomed  as  an  invalid  to  his  thoughtful 
attentions,  missed  his  companionship  as  health  returned. 
What  were  her  feelings  the  first  night  she  found  herself 
obliged  to  walk  home  alone!  But  thereafter,  like  a  more 
consistent  apostle  of  woman's  rights,  she  braved  the  night 
alone  wherever  duty  led.  She  undertook  to  help  her  hus 
band  in  his  computations,  but,  failing  to  persuade  him  that 
her  time  was  worth  as  much  as  his,  she  quit  work.  He 
could,  indeed,  compute  much  faster  than  she,  but  she  feel 
ingly  demanded  a  man's  wages. 

However,  this  labor  trouble  subsided  without  resort  to 
boycott.  The  most  serious  quarrel — and  for  a  time  it  was 
very  dreadful — arose  in  this  way : 

It  is  well  known  that  Boston  is  the  intellectual  and  moral 
centre  of  the  country,  in  fact  of  the  world;  the  hub  of  the 


LOVE  IN  A  COTTAGE.  81 

universe,  as  it  were.  There  in  ancient  times  witchcraft  and 
the  Quaker  superstition  were  gently  but  firmly  discouraged 
(compare  Giles  Corey,  Longfellow's  fine  drama,  long  since 
suppressed  by  Boston  publishers).  There  in  modern  times 
descendants  of  the  Puritans  practice  race-suicide  and  Irish 
men  practice  politics.  There  a  white  man  is  looked  upon  as 
the  equal  of  a  negro,  though  somewhat  inferior,  in  many 
ways,  to  the  Boston  woman.  Now  it  so  happened  that  some 
Boston  and  Cambridge  ladies  of  Angeline  Hall's  acquaint 
ance  had  resolved  beyond  equivocation  that  woman  should 
thenceforth  be  emancipated  from  skirts.  They  were  de 
lighted  to  find  that  Mrs.  Hall,  in  college  days,  had  worn  the 
"  bloomer  "  costume.  So  they  very  generously  suggested 
that  she  have  the  honor  of  inaugurating  bloomers  in  Boston 
and  vicinity.  Truly  it  showed  a  self-sacrificing  spirit  on  the 
part  of  these  ladies  to  allow  this  comparatively  unknown 
sister  to  reap  the  honor  due  her  who  should  abolish  skirts. 
They  would  not  for  one  moment  think  of  robbing  her  of  this 
honor  by  donning  bloomers  themselves.  They  could  only 
suggest  that  the  reform  be  instituted  without  delay,  and  they 
were  eager  to  see  how  much  the  Boston  public  would  appre 
ciate  it. 

Mrs.  Hall  was  enthusiastic.  Mr.  Hall  was  not.  Sordid 
considerations  biased  his  judgment.  He  reminded  his  wife 
that  they  were  just  struggling  to  their  feet,  and  the 
bloomers  might  ruin  their  prospects.  Mrs.  Hall  was  furi 
ous!  A  pure-minded  woman  to  be  interfered  with  in  this 
manner !  And  worse  than  that,  to  think  that  she  had  mar 
ried  a  coward !  "  A  coward  " — yes,  that  is  what  she  called 
him.  It  so  happened,  shortly  afterward,  that  the  astrono- 


82  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

mer,  returning  home  one  night,  found  his  wife  by  the  door 
step  watching  a  blazing  lamp,  on  the  point  of  explosion.  He 
stepped  up  and  dropped  his  observing  cap  over  the  lamp. 
Whereupon  she  said,  "  You  are  brave !  "  Strange  she  had 
not  noticed  it  before ! 

Asaph  Hall  used  to  aver  that  a  family  quarrel  is  not  al 
ways  a  bad  thing.  It  may  serve  to  clear  the  atmosphere. 
Could  he  have  been  thinking  of  his  own  experience  ?  It  is 
possible  that  the  little  quarrels  indicated  above  led  to  a 
clearer  understanding  of  the  separate  duties  of  husband  and 
wife,  and  thence  to  a  division  of  labor  in  the  household.  The 
secret  of  social  progress  lies  in  the  division  of  labor.  And 
the  secret  of  success  and  great  achievement  in  the  Hall 
household  lay  in  the  division  of  labor.  At  an  early  date  Mr. 
Hall  confined  his  attention  to  astronomy,  and  Mrs.  Hall  con 
fined  hers  to  domestic  cares.  The  world  gained  a  worthy 
astronomer.  Did  it  lose  a  reformer-poetess?  Possibly. 
But  it  was  richer  by  one  more  devoted  wife  and  mother. 

From  the  spring  of  1859  to  the  end  of  their  stay  in  Cam 
bridge,  that  is,  for  three  years,  the  Halls  occupied  the  cozy 
little  Bond  cottage,  at  the  top  of  Observatory  Hill.  Back 
of  the  cottage  they  had  a  vegetable  garden,  which  helped  out 
a  small  salary  considerably.  There  in  its  season  they  raised 
most  delicious  sweet  corn.  In  the  dooryard,  turning  an  old 
crank,  was  a  rosy-cheeked  little  boy,  who  sang  as  he  turned : 

Julee,  julee,  mem,  mem, 
Julee,  julee,  mem,  mem; 

then  paused  to  call  out: 
"  Mama,  don't  you  like  my  sweet  voice  ?  " 


LOVE  IN  A  COTTAGE.  83 

Asaph  Hall,  Jr.,  was  born  at  the  Bond  cottage,  October 
6,  1859.  If  we  may  trust  the  accounts  of  his  fond  mother, 
he  was  a  precocious  little  fellow — played  bo-peep  at  four 
months — weighed  twenty-one  pounds  at  six  months,  when 
he  used  to  ride  out  every  day  in  his  little  carriage  and  get 
very  rosy — took  his  first  step  at  fourteen  months,  when  he 
had  ten  teeth — was  quite  a  talker  at  seventeen  months, 
when  he  tumbled  down  the  cellar  stairs  with  a  pail  of  coal 
scattered  over  him — darned  his  stocking  at  twenty-six 
months,  and  demanded  that  his  aunt's  letter  be  read  to  him 
three  or  four  times  a  day — at  two  and  a  half  years  trudged 
about  in  the  snow  in  his  rubber  boots,  and  began  to  help  his 
mother  with  the  housework,  declaring,  "  I'm  big  enough, 
mama."  "  Little  A."  was  a  general  favorite.  He  fully  en 
joyed  a  clam  bake,  and  was  very  fond  of  oranges.  One  day 
he  got  lost,  and  his  terrified  mother  thought  he  might  have 
fallen  into  a  well.  But  he  was  found  at  last  on  his  way  to 
Boston  to  buy  oranges. 

Love  in  a  cottage  is  sweeter  and  more  prosperous  when 
the  cottage  stands  a  hundred  miles  or  more  from  the  homes 
of  relatives.  How  can  wife  cleave  unto  husband  when 
mother  lives  next  door?  And  how  can  husband  prosper 
when  father  pays  the  bills  ?  It  was  a  fortunate  piece  of  hard 
luck  that  Angeline  Hall  saw  little  of  her  people.  As  it  was, 
her  sympathy  and  interest  constantly  went  out  to  mother 
and  sisters.  This  is  seen  from  her  letters.  In  one  she 
threatened  to  rescue  her  mother  from  the  irate  Mr.  Wood 
ward  by  carrying  her  off  bodily  to  Cambridge.  By  others 
it  appears  that  she  was  always  in  touch  with  her  sisters  Ruth 
and  Mary.  Indeed,  during  little  A.'s  early  infancy  Mary 


84  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

visited  Cambridge  and  acted  as  nurse.  In  the  summer  of 
1860,  little  A.  and  his  mother  visited  Rodman.  Charlotte 
Ingalls  was  on  from  the  West,  also,  and  there  was  a  sort  of 
family  reunion.  Charlotte,  Angeline  and  Ruth,  and  their 
cousins  Huldah  and  Harriette  were  all  mothers  now,  and 
they  merrily  placed  their  five  babies  in  a  row. 

In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  Angeline  visited  her  aunts, 
Lois  and  Charlotte  Stickney,  who  still  lived  on  their 
father's  farm  in  Jaffrey,  New  Hampshire.  The  old  ladies 
were  very  poor,  and  labored  in  the  field  like  men,  maintain 
ing  a  pathetic  independence.  Angeline  was  much  con 
cerned,  but  found  some  comfort,  no  doubt,  in  this  example 
of  Stickney  grit.  She  had  found  her  father's  old  home, 
heard  his  story  from  his  sisters'  lips,  learned  of  the  stalwart 
old  grandfather,  Moses  Stickney;  and  from  that  time  forth 
she  took  a  great  interest  in  the  family  genealogy.  In  1863 
she  visited  Jaffrey  again,  and  that  summer  ascended  Mt. 
Monadnock  with  her  little  boy.  Just  twenty-five  years  after 
ward,  accompanied  by  her  other  three  sons,  she  camped  two 
or  three  weeks  on  her  grandfather's  farm;  and  it  was  my 
own  good  fortune  to  ascend  the  grand  old  mountain  with 
her.  What  a  glorious  day  it  was!  Great  white  clouds  lay 
against  the  blue  sky  in  windrows.  At  a  distance  the  rows 
appeared  to  merge  into  one  great  mass ;  but  on  the  hills  and 
fields  and  ponds  below  the  shadows  alternated  with  the  sun 
shine  as  far  as  eye  could  reach.  There  beneath  us  lay  the 
rugged  land  whose  children  had  carried  Anglo-Saxon  civi 
lization  westward  to  the  Pacific.  Moses  Stickney's  farm 
was  a  barren  waste  now,  hardly  noticeable  from  the  moun 
tain-top.  Lois  and  Charlotte  had  died  in  the  fall  of  1869, 


LOVE  IN  A  COTTAGE.  85 

within  a  few  days  of  each  other.  House  and  barn  had  disap 
peared,  and  the  site  was  marked  by  raspberry  bushes.  We 
drew  water  from  the  old  well ;  and  gathered  the  dead  brush 
of  the  apple  orchard,  where  our  tent  was  pitched,  to  cook 
our  victuals. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


WASHINGTON  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

Many  an  obscure  man  of  ability  was  raised  to  prominence 
by  the  Civil  War.  So  it  was  with  the  astronomer,  Asaph 
Hall.  A  year  after  the  war  broke  out,  the  staff  of  workers 
at  the  U.  S.  Naval  Observatory  was  much  depleted.  Some 
resigned  to  go  South ;  others  were  ordered  elsewhere  by  the 
Federal  Government.  In  the  summer  of  1862,  while  his 
wife  was  visiting  her  people  in  Rodman,  Mr.  Hall  went  to 
Washington,  passed  an  examination,  and  was  appointed  an 
"  Aid  "  in  the  Naval  Observatory. 

The  city  was  in  a  turmoil.  On  August  27,  three  weeks 
after  he  entered  the  observatory,  Mr.  Hall  wrote  to  his 
wife : 

When  I  see  the  slack,  shilly-shally,  expensive  way  the  Government 
has  of  doing  everything,  it  appears  impossible  that  it  should  ever 
succeed  in  beating  the  Rebels. 

He  soon  became  disgusted  at  the  wire-pulling  in  Wash 
ington,  and  wrote  contemptuously  of  the  "  American  astron 
omy  "  then  cultivated  at  the  Naval  Observatory.  But  he 
decided  to  make  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain ;  and  his  own  work 
at  Washington  has  shed  a  lustre  on  American  astronomy. 

When  he  left  Cambridge,  thanks  to  his  frugal  wife,  he 
had  three  hundred  dollars  in  the  bank,  although  his  salary 
at  the  Harvard  Observatory  was  only  six  hundred  a  year. 


WASHINGTON  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  87 

The  Bonds  hated  to  lose  him,  and  offered  him  eight  hun 
dred  in  gold  if  he  would  stay.  This  was  as  good  as  the 
Washington  salary  of  one  thousand  a  year  in  paper  money 
which  he  accepted,  to  say  nothing  of  the  bad  climate  and 
high  prices  of  that  city,  or  of  the  uncertainties  of  the  war. 

The  next  three  years  were  teeming  with  great  events. 
In  less  than  a  month  after  his  arrival  in  Washington,  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run  was  fought.  At  the  observatory 
he  heard  the  roar  of  cannon  and  the  rattle  of  musketry ;  and 
it  was  his  heart-rending  task  to  hunt  for  wounded  friends. 
His  wife,  still  at  the  North,  wrote  under  date  of  September 
4,  1862: 

DEAREST  ASAPH  :....!  wish  I  could  go  right  on  to  you,  I  feel 
so  troubled  about  you.  You  will  write  to  me,  won't  you,  as  soon  as 
you  get  this,  and  tell  me  whether  to  come  on  now  or  not.  If  there 
is  danger  I  had  rather  share  it  with  you. 

What  are  you  doing  now?  Does  the  excitement  stop  your  busi 
ness? 

Little  A  says  he  does  not  want  papa  to  get  shot.  Cried  about  it 
last  night,  and  put  his  arms  round  my  neck.  He  says  he  is  going  to 
take  care  of  mamma.  There  is  a  terrible  excitement  in  Boston. 

To  this  her  husband  replied,  September  6: 

DEAREST  ANGIE:  I  have  just  got  your  letter You  must 

not  give  yourself  any  uneasiness  about  me.  I  shall  keep  along  about 
my  business.  We  are  now  observing  the  planet  Mars  in  the  morning, 
and  I  work  every  other  night. 

Don't  tell  little  A  that  I  am  going  to  be  shot.  Don't  expect  any 
thing  of  that  kind.  You  had  better  take  your  time  and  visit  at  your 
leisure  now.  Things  will  be  more  settled  in  a  couple  of  weeks. 

Capt.  Fox  [his  room-mate  at  McGrawville]  seems  to  be  doing 
well.  The  ball  is  in  his  chest  and  probably  lodged  near  his  lungs. 
It  may  kill  him,  but  I  think  not 


88  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Observing  Mars  every  other  night,  and  serving  Mars  the 
rest  of  the  time!  His  wife's  step-brothers  Constant  and 
Jasper  Woodward  were  both  wounded.  Jasper,  the  best  of 
the  Woodward  brothers,  was  a  lieutenant,  and  led  his  com 
pany  at  Bull  Run,  the  captain  having  scalded  himself  slight 
ly  with  hot  coffee  in  order  to  keep  out  of  the  fight.  Jasper 
was  an  exceedingly  bashful  fellow,  but  a  magnificent  sol 
dier,  and  he  fairly  gloried  in  the  battle.  When  he  fell,  and 
his  company  broke  in  retreat,  Constant  paused  to  take  a 
last  shot  in  revenge,  and  was  himself  wounded.  Mr.  Hall 
found  them  both,  Constant  fretful  and  complaining,  though 
not  seriously  wounded,  and  Jasper  still  glorying  in  the  fight. 
The  gallant  fellow's  wound  did  not  seem  fatal;  but  having 
been  left  in  a  damp  stone  church,  he  had  taken  cold  in  it,  so 
that  he  died. 

Next  followed  the  battle  of  Antietam,  and  the  astrono 
mer's  wife,  unable  to  find  out  who  had  won,  and  fearful  lest 
communication  with  Washington  might  be  cut  off  if  she  de 
layed,  hastened  thither.  Now  Col.  A.  J.  Warner,  a  McGraw- 
ville  schoolmate,  whose  family  lived  with  the  Halls  in 
Georgetown,  was  brought  home  shot  through  the  hip.  To 
add  to  the  trials  of  the  household,  little  A.  and  the  colonel's 
boy  Elmer  came  down  with  diphtheria.  Through  the  un 
flagging  care  and  nursing  of  his  mother,  little  A.  lived.  But 
Elmer  died.  Mr.  Hall,  exhausted  by  the  hot,  unwholesome 
climate  no  less  than  by  his  constant  exertions  in  behalf  of 
wounded  friends,  broke  down,  and  was  confined  within 
doors  six  weeks  with  jaundice.  Indeed,  it  was  two  years 
before  he  fully  recovered.  Strange  that  historians  of  the 
Civil  War  have  not  dwelt  upon  the  enormous  advantage  to 


WASHINGTON  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  89 

the  Confederates  afforded  by  their  hot,  enervating  climate, 
so  deadly  to  the  Northern  volunteer. 

In  January,  1863,  the  Halls  and  Warners  moved  to  a 
house  in  Washington,  on  I  Street,  between  2Oth  and  2ist 
Streets,  N.  W.  Here  a  third  surgical  operation  on  the 
wounded  colonel  proved  successful.  Though  he  nearly  bled 
to  death,  the  distorted  bullet  was  at  last  pulled  out  through 
the  hole  it  had  made  in  the  flat  part  of  the  hip  bone.  De 
ceived  by  the  doctors  before,  the  poor  man  cried :  "  Mr.  Hall, 
is  the  ball  out?  Is  the  ball  out?  " 

Soon  after  this,  in  March,  small-pox,  which  was  preva 
lent  in  the  city,  broke  out  in  the  house,  and  Mr.  Hall  sent 
his  wife  and  little  boy  to  Cambridge,  Mass.  There  she 
stayed  with  her  friend  Miss  Sarah  Waitt;  and  there  she 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  Captain  Gillis,  Superintendent 
of  the  Naval  Observatory : 

CAMBRIDGE,  Apr.  17,  1863. 
Capt.  Gillis. 

DEAR  SIR:  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Hall  this  morning  saying 
that  Prof.  Hesse  has  resigned  his  place  at  the  Observatory.  I  wish 
Mr.  Hall  might  have  the  vacant  place. 

If  the  question  is  one  of  ability,  I  should  be  more  than  willing  that 
he  with  all  other  competitors  should  have  a  thorough  and  impartial 
examination.  I  know  I  should  be  proud  of  the  result.  If  on  the 
other  hand  the  question  is  who  has  the  greatest  number  of  influential 
friends  to  push  him  forward  whether  qualified  or  unqualified,  I  fear, 
alas !  that  he  will  fail.  He  stands  alone  on  his  merits,  but  his  success 
is  only  a  question  of  time.  I,  more  than  any  one,  know  of  all  his 
long,  patient  and  faithful  study.  A  few  years,  and  he,  like  Johnson, 
will  be  beyond  the  help  of  some  Lord  Chesterfield. 

Mr.  Hall  writes  me  that  he  shall  do  nothing  but  wait.  I  could 
not  bear  not  to  have  his  name  at  least  proposed. 

Truly, 
ANGELINE  S.  HALL. 

7 


90  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

On  the  3rd  of  May  Mr.  Hall  wrote  to  his  wife  from 
Washington : 

DEAREST  ANGIE:  Yesterday  afternoon  Capt.  Gillis  told  me  to  tell 
you  that  the  best  answer  he  could  make  to  your  letter  is  that  here 
after  you  might  address  me  as  Prof.  A.  Hall 

You  wrote  to  Capt.  Gillis,  did  you?    What  did  you  write? 

Yours, 
A.  HALL. 

And  so  it  was  that  Asaph  Hall  entered  permanently  into 
the  service  of  the  United  States  Government.  His  position 
in  life  was  at  last  secure,  and  the  rest  of  his  days  were  de 
voted  completely  to  science.  His  wife,  grown  stronger  and 
more  self-reliant,  took  charge  of  the  family  affairs  and  left 
him  free  to  work.  That  summer  he  wrote  to  her,  "  It  took 
me  a  long  time  to  find  out  what  a  good  wife  I  have  got." 

Some  fifteen  years  afterward  Mrs.  Hall  rendered  a  simi 
lar  service  to  the  famous  theoretical  astronomer,  Mr.  George 
W.  Hill,  who  for  several  years  was  an  inmate  of  her  house. 
Knowing  Mr.  Hill's  rare  abilities,  and  his  extreme  modesty, 
Mrs.  Hall  took  it  upon  herself  to  urge  his  appointment  to 
the  corps  of  Professors  of  Mathematics,  U.  S.  Navy,  to 
which  her  husband  belonged.  There  were  two  vacancies  at 
the  time,  and  Mr.  Hill,  having  brilliantly  passed  a  competi 
tive  examination,  was  designated  for  appointment.  But  cer 
tain  influences  deprived  the  corps  of  the  lustre  which  the 
name  of  Hill  would  have  shed  upon  it. 

^In  the  fall  of  1863  the  Halls  settled  down  again  in  the 
house  on  I  Street.  Here  the  busy  little  wife  made  home  as 
cheerful  as  the  times  permitted,  celebrating  her  husband's 
birthday  with  a  feast.  But  the  I  Street  home  was  again  in 
vaded  by  small-pox.  Captain  Fox,  having  been  appointed 


WASHINGTON  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  91 

to  a  government  clerkship,  was  boarding  with  them,  when 
he  came  down  with  varioloid.  And  Mr.  Hall's  sister,  on  a 
visit  to  Washington,  caught  the  small-pox  from  him.  How 
ever,  she  recovered  without  spreading  the  disease. 

In  May,  1864,  they  rented  rooms  in  a  house  on  the  heights 
north  of  the  city.  Their  landlord,  a  Mr.  Crandle,  was  a 
Southern  sympathizer;  but  when  General  Jubal  A.  Early 
threatened  the  city  he  was  greatly  alarmed.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  July  12  firing  was  heard  north  of  the  city.  Crandle, 
with  a  clergyman  friend,  had  been  out  very  early  reconnoi- 
tering,  and  they  appeared  with  two  young  turkeys,  stolen 
somewhere  in  anticipation  of  the  sacking  of  the  city.  For 
the  Confederates  were  coming,  and  the  house,  owned  as  it 
was  by  a  United  States  officer,  would  surely  be  burned.  A 
hiding  place  for  the  family  had  been  found  in  the  Rock 
Creek  valley. 

Mr.  Hall  went  to  his  work  that  morning  as  usual ;  but  he 
did  not  return.  Mrs.  Hall,  who  was  soon  to  give  birth  to 
another  son,  took  little  Asaph  and  went  in  search  of  her 
husband.  He  was  not  at  the  observatory,  but  the  following 
note  explained  his  absence: 

July  12,  1864. 

DEAR  ANGIE:  I  am  going  out  to  Fort  Lincoln.  Don't  know  how 
long  I  shall  stay.  Am  to  be  under  Admiral  Goldsborough.  We  all 
go.  Keep  cool  and  take  good  care  of  little  A. 

Yours  truly, 

A.  HALL. 

Together  with  other  Observatory  officials,  Mr.  Hall  was 
put  in  command  of  workmen  from  the  Navy  Yard,  who 
manned  an  intrenchment  near  Fort  Lincoln.  Many  of  the 
men  were  foreigners,  and  some  of  them  did  not  know  how 


92  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

to  load  a  gun.  Had  the  Confederates  charged  upon  them 
they  might  have  been  slaughtered  like  sheep.  But  in  a  day 
or  two  Union  troops  arrived  in  sufficient  force  to  drive 
Early  away. 

Before  the  summer  was  over,  the  Halls  moved  to  a  house 
in  Georgetown,  on  the  corner  of  West  and  Montgomery 
Streets.  It  was  an  old-fashioned  brick  house,  with  a  pleas 
ant  yard  fenced  by  iron  pickets.  These  were  made  of  old 
gun  barrels,  and  gave  the  place  the  name  of  "  Gunbarrel 
Corner."  Here,  on  the  28th  of  September,  1864,  their  sec 
ond  child,  Samuel,  was  born.  And  here  the  family  lived 
for  three  years,  renting  rooms  to  various  friends  and  rela 
tives.  One  of  these  was  Mr.  Hall's  sister,  Mrs.  Charles 
Kennon,  whose  soldier  husband  lost  his  life  in  the  Red 
River  expedition,  leaving  her  with  three  noble  little  sons. 
Mr.  Kennon  and  the  Halls  had  been  neighbors  in  Cam 
bridge,  where  he  studied  at  the  Harvard  Divinity  School. 

From  the  beginning  Mr.  Hall  had  objected  to  having  a 
home  in  Washington,  and  had  looked  to  New  England  as  a 
fitter  place  for  his  family  to  live ;  but  his  wife  would  not  be 
separated  from  him.  The  curse  of  war  was  upon  the  city. 
Crowded  with  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  idle  officers  and 
immoral  women,  it  was  scourged  by  disease.  Forty  cases 
of  small-pox  were  at  one  time  reported  within  half  a  mile  of 
the  place  where  Mr.  Hall  lived.  But  people  had  become  so 
reckless  as  to  attend  a  ball  at  a  small-pox  hospital.  Most  of 
the  native  population  were  Southern  sympathizers,  and  some 
of  the  women  were  very  bitter.  They  hated  all  Yankees — 
people  who  had  lived  upon  saw-dust,  and  who  came  to 
Washington  to  take  the  Government  offices  away  from 


WASHINGTON  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  93 

Southern  gentlemen.  As  Union  soldiers  were  carried,  sick 
and  wounded,  to  the  hospital,  these  women  would  laugh  and 
jeer  at  them. 

But  there  were  people  in  Washington  who  were  making 
history.  One  day  Mr.  Hall  saw  Grant — short,  thin,  and 
stoop-shouldered,  dressed  in  his  uniform,  a  slouch  hat  pulled 
over  his  brow — on  his  way  to  take  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  That  venerable  patriot  John  Pierpont,  whom 
she  had  seen  and  admired  at  McGrawville,  became  attached 
to  Mrs.  Hall,  and  used  to  dine  at  her  house.  She  took  her 
little  boy  to  one  of  Lincoln's  receptions,  and  one  night  Lin 
coln  and  Secretary  Stanton  made  a  visit  to  the  Naval  Obser 
vatory,  where  Mr.  Hall  showed  them  some  objects  through 
his  telescope.  At  the  Cambridge  Observatory  the  Prince  of 
Wales  had  once  appeared,  but  on  that  occasion  the  young 
astronomer  was  made  to  feel  less  than  nobody.  Now  the 
great  War  President,  who  signed  his  commission  in  the 
United  States  Navy,  talked  with  him  face  to  face.  One 
night  soon  afterward,  when  alone  in  the  observing  tower, 
he  heard  a  knock  at  the  trap  door.  He  leisurely  completed 
his  observation,  then  went  to  lift  the  door,  when  up  through 
the  floor  the  tall  President  raised  his  head.  Lincoln  had 
come  unattended  through  the  dark  streets  to  inquire  why 
the  moon  had  appeared  inverted  in  the  telescope.  Survey 
ors'  instruments,  which  he  had  once  used,  show  objects  in 
their  true  position. 

At  length  the  war  was  over,  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
and  Sherman's  Army  passed  in  review  through  the  city. 
Mrs.  Hall  was  one  of  those  who  witnessed  these  glorious 
spectacles — rank  after  rank,  regiment  after  regiment  of  sea- 


94  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

soned  veterans,  their  battle-flags  torn  and  begrimed,  their 
uniforms  shabby  enough  but  their  arms  burnished  and  glis 
tening,  the  finest  soldiers  in  the  world !  Among  the  officers 
was  General  Osborne,  an  old  Jefferson  County  acquaintance. 
Among  all  the  noble  men  of  those  heroic  times,  I,  for  my 
part,  like  to  think  of  old  John  Pierpont,  the  minister  poet, 
who  broke  bread  at  my  mother's  table.  Whether  this  pre 
dilection  is  due  to  prenatal  causes,  some  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  may  decide.  Certain  it  is  that  I  was  born  in  Sep 
tember,  1868,  and  in  the  preceding  April  my  mother  wrote : 

O  dear  anemone,  and  violet  fair, 

Beloved  hepatica,  arbutus  sweet! 
Two  years  ago  I  twined  your  graces  rare, 

And  laid  the  garland  at  the  poet's  feet. 

t 
The  grand  old  poet  on  whose  brow  the  snow 

Of  eighty  winters  lay  in  purest  white, 
But  in  whose  heart  was  held  the  added  glow 

Of  eighty  summers  full  of  warmth  and  light. 

Like  some  fair  tree  within  the  tropic  clime 

In  whose  green  boughs  the  spring  and  autumn  meet, 

Where  wreaths  of  bloom  around  the  ripe  fruits  twine, 
And  promise  with  fulfilment  stands  complete, 

So  twined  around  the  ripeness  of  his  thought 

An  ever-springing  verdure  and  perfume, 
All  his  rich  fullness  from  October  caught 

And  all  her  freshness  from  the  heart  of  June. 

But  last  year  when  the  sweet  wild  flowers  awoke 

And  opened  their  dear  petals  to  the  sun, 
He  was  not  here,  but  every  flow'ret  spoke 

An  odorous  breath  of  him  the  missing  one. 


WASHINGTON  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  95 

Of  this  effusion  John  Greenleaf  Whittier — to  whom  the 
verses  were  addressed — graciously  wrote : 

The  first  four  verses  of  thy  poem  are  not  only  very  beautiful  from 
an  artistic  point  of  view,  but  are  wonderfully  true  of  the  man  they 
describe. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  GAY  STREET  HOME. 

In  November,  1867,  the  Halls  bought  the  Captain  Peters' 
place,  No.  18  Gay  Street,  Georgetown,  and  for  twenty-five 
years,  that  is,  for  the  rest  of  Angeline  Hall's  life,  this  was 
her  home.  The  two-story  brick  house,  covered  with  white 
stucco,  and  having  a  shingled  roof,  stood  in  the  centre  of  a 
generous  yard,  looking  southward.  Wooden  steps  led  up 
to  a  square  front  porch,  the  roof  of  which  was  supported  by 
large  wooden  pillars.  The  front  door  opened  into  a  hall, 
with  parlor  on  the  right  hand  and  sitting  room  on  the  left. 
Back  of  the  sitting  room  was  the  dining  room,  and  back  of 
that  the  kitchen.  In  the  year  of  the  Centennial,  1876,  the 
house  was  enlarged  to  three  stories,  with  a  flat  tin  roof,  and 
three  bay-windows  were  added,  one  in  the  dining  room  and 
two  in  front  of  the  house,  and  the  front  porch  was  length 
ened  so  as  to  extend  from  one  bay  window  to  the  other. 
The  new  house  was  heated  chiefly  by  a  furnace  and  a  large 
kitchen  range,  but  in  the  dining  room  and  sitting  room 
grates  were  put  in  for  open  coal  fires.  The  two  rooms  were 
thrown  together  by  sliding  doors,  and  became  the  centre  of 
home  comfort;  though  the  room  over  the  sitting  room, 
where,  in  a  low  cane-seated  rocking  chair  of  oak,  Mrs.  Hall 
sat  and  did  the  family  sewing,  was  of  almost  equal  import 
ance.  In  the  sitting  room  hung  the  old-fashioned  German 


THE   GAY   STREET   HOME 


THE  GAY  STREET  HOME.  97 

looking-glass  with  its  carved  and  gilded  frame,  the  gift  of 
Dr.  Powalky.  Over  the  fire-place  was  an  engraving  of  Lin 
coln,  and  in  one  corner  of  the  room  was  the  round  mahogany 
table  where  Professor  Hall  played  whist  with  his  boys. 
Over  the  dining  room  mantle  hung  a  winter  scene  painted 
by  some  relative  of  the  family,  and  in  the  bay  window  stood 
Mrs.  Hall's  fern  table. 

In  the  front  yard  was  a  large  black-heart  cherry  tree, 
where  house-wrens  built  their  nests,  a  crab-apple  tree  that 
blossomed  prodigiously,  a  damson  plum,  peach  trees,  box- 
trees  and  evergreens.  The  walks  were  bordered  with  flower 
beds,  where  roses  and  petunias,  verbenas  and  geraniums, 
portulacas  and  mignonnette  blossomed  in  profusion.  In  the 
back  yard  was  a  large  English  walnut  tree,  from  the 
branches  of  which  the  little  Halls  used  to  shoot  the  ripe  nuts 
with  their  bows  and  arrows.  In  another  part  of  the  back 
yard  was  Mrs.  Hall's  hot-bed,  with  its  seven  long  sashes, 
under  which  tender  garden  plants  were  protected  during  the 
winter,  and  sweet  English  violets  bloomed.  Along  the  side 
walk  in  front  of  the  premises  was  a  row  of  rather  stunted 
rock-maples ;  for  the  Southern  soil  seemed  but  grudgingly  to 
nourish  the  Northern  trees. 

Such,  in  bare  outline,  was  the  Gay  Street  home.  Here  on 
September  16,  1868,  the  third  child,  Angelo,  was  born. 
Among  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood  18  Gay  Street  became 
known  as  the  residence  of  "  Asaph,  Sam,  and  Angelico." 
This  euphonious  and  rhythmical  combination  of  names  held 
good  for  four  years  exactly,  when,  on  September  16,  1872, 
the  fourth  and  last  child,  Percival,  was  born.  One  of  my 
earliest  recollections  is  the  sight  of  a  red,  new-born  infant 
held  in  my  father's  hands.  It  has  been  humorously  main- 


98  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

tained  that  it  was  my  parents'  design  to  spell  out  the  name 
"  Asaph  "  with  the  initials  of  his  children.  I  am  inclined  to 
discredit  the  idea,  though  the  pleasantry  was  current  in  my 
boyhood,  and  the  fifth  letter, — which  might,  of  course,  be 
said  to  stand  for  Hall, — was  supplied  by  Henry  S.  Pritchett, 
who  as  a  young  man  became  a  member  of  the  family,  as 
much  attached  to  Mrs.  Hall  as  an  own  son.  In  fact,  when 
Asaph  was  away  at  college,  little  Percival  used  to  say  there 
were  five  boys  in  the  family  counting  Asaph.  As  a  curious 
commentary  upon  this  letter  game,  I  will  add  that  my  own 
little  boy  Llewellyn  used  to  pronounce  his  grandfather's 
name  "  Apas."  Blood  is  thicker  than  water,  and  though  the 
letters  here  are  slightly  mixed,  the  proper  four,  and  four 
only,  are  employed. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  Angeline  Hall  reared  her  four  sons 
in  the  unheard-of  and  insignificant  little  city  of  Georgetown, 
whose  sole  claim  to  distinction  is  that  it  was  once  the  home 
of  Francis  Scott  Key.  What  a  pity  the  Hall  boys  were  not 
brought  up  in  Massachusetts !  And  yet  how  glad  I  am  that 
we  were  not !  In  Georgetown  Angeline  Hall  trained  her  sons 
with  entire  freedom  from  New  England  educational  fads; 
and  for  her  sake  Georgetown  is  to  them  profoundly  sacred. 
Here  it  was  that  this  woman  of  gentle  voice,  iron  will,  and 
utmost  purity  of  character  instilled  in  her  growing  boys 
moral  principles  that  should  outlast  a  lifetime.  One  day 
when  about  six  years  old  I  set  out  to  annihilate  my  brother 
Sam.  I  had  a  chunk  of  wood  as  big  as  my  head  with  which 
I  purposed  to  kill  him.  He  happened  to  be  too  nimble  for 
me,  so  that  the  fury  of  my  rage  was  ungratified.  My  mother 
witnessed  the  affair.  Indeed,  she  wept  over  it.  She  told 
me  in  heartfelt  words  the  inevitable  consequences  of  such 


THE  GAY  STREET  HOME.  99 

actions — and  from  that  day  dated  my  absolute  submission  to 
her  authority. 

In  this  connection  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  quote  the  words 
of  Mrs.  John  R.  Eastman,  for  thirteen  years  our  next-door 
neighbor : 

During  the  long  days  of  our  long  summers,  when  windows  and 
doors  were  open,  and  the  little  ones  at  play  out  of  doors  often 
claimed  a  word  from  her,  I  lived  literally  within  sound  of  her  voice 
from  day  to  day.  Never  once  did  I  hear  it  raised  in  anger,  and  its 
sweetness,  and  steady,  even  tones,  were  one  of  her  chief  and  abiding 
charms. 

The  fact  is,  Angeline  Hall  rather  over-did  the  inculcation 
of  Christian  principles.  Like  Tolstoi  she  taught  the  abso 
lute  wickedness  of  fighting,  instead  of  the  manly  duty  of 
self-defense.  And  yet,  I  think  my  brothers  suffered  no  evil 
consequences.  I  myself  did.  Perhaps  the  secret  of  her 
great  influence  over  us  was  that  she  demanded  the  absolute 
truth.  Dishonesty  in  word  or  act  was  out  of  the  question. 
In  two  instances,  I  remember,  I  lied  to  her;  for  in  moral 
strength  I  was  not  the  equal  of  George  Washington.  But 
those  lies  weighed  heavily  on  my  conscience,  till  at  last,  after 
many  years,  I  confessed  to  her. 

If  she  demanded  truth  and  obedience  from  her  sons,  she 
gave  to  them  her  absolute  devotion.  Miracles  of  healing 
were  performed  in  her  household.  By  sheer  force  of  charac 
ter,  by  continual  watchings  and  utmost  care  in  dieting,  she 
rescued  me  from  a  hopeless  case  of  dysentery  in  the  fifth 
year  of  my  age.  The  old  Navy  doctor  called  it  a  miracle, 
and  so  it  was.  And  I  have  lived  to  write  her  story.  Serious 
sickness  was  uncommon  in  our  family,  as  is  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that,  for  periods  of  three  years  each,  not  one  of  her 


ioo  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

four  boys  was  ever  late  to  school,  though  the  distance  thither 
was  a  mile  or  two.  When  Percival,  coasting  down  one  of 
the  steep  hills  of  Georgetown,  ran  into  a  street  car  and  was 
brought  home  half  stunned,  with  one  front  tooth  knocked 
out  and  gone  and  another  badly  loosened,  Angeline  Hall  re 
paired  to  the  scene  of  the  accident  early  the  next  morning, 
found  the  missing  tooth,  and  had  the  family  dentist  restore 
it  to  its  place.  There  it  has  done  good  service  for  twenty 
years.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  such  a  woman  should  have  in 
sisted  upon  her  husband's  discovering  the  satellites  of  Mars  ? 

Perhaps  the  secret  of  success  in  the  moral  training  of  her 
sons  lay  in  her  generalship.  She  was  an  ideal  general.  In 
house  and  yard  there  was  work  to  do,  and  she  marshaled 
her  boys  to  do  it.  Like  a  good  general  she  was  far  more 
efficient  than  any  of  her  soldiers,  but  under  her  leadership 
they  did  wonders.  Sweeping,  dusting,  making  beds,  wash 
ing  dishes,  sifting  ashes,  going  to  market,  running  errands, 
weeding  the  garden,  chopping  wood,  beating  carpets,  mend 
ing  fences,  cleaning  house — there  was  hardly  a  piece  of 
work  indoors  or  out  with  which  they  were  unfamiliar.  Nor 
did  they  lack  for  play  hours.  There  was  abundance  of  lei 
sure  for  all  sorts  of  diversions,  including  swimming  and 
skating,  two  forms  of  exercise  which  struck  terror  to  the 
mother  heart,  but  in  which,  through  her  self-sacrifice,  they 
indulged  quite  freely. 

Their  leisure  was  purchased  by  her  labor;  for  until  they 
were  of  academic  age  she  was  their  school  teacher.  In  an 
hour  or  two  a  day  they  mastered  the  three  R's  and  many 
things  besides.  Nor  did  they  suffer  from  too  little  teaching, 
for  at  the  preparatory  school  each  of  them  in  turn  led  his 
class,  and  at  Harvard  College  all  four  sons  graduated  with 


THE  GAY  STREET  HOME.  101 

distinction.  Four  sons  graduates  of  Harvard!  How  few 
mothers  have  so  proud  a  record,  and  how  impossible  would 
such  an  achievement  have  seemed  to  any  observer  who  had 
seen  the  collapse  of  this  frail  woman  at  McGrawville !  But 
as  each  successive  son  completed  his  college  course  it  was  as 
if  she  herself  had  done  it — her  moral  training  had  supplied 
the  incentive,  her  teaching  and  encouragement  had  started 
the  lad  in  his  studies,  when  he  went  to  school  her  motherly 
care  had  provided  nourishing  food  and  warm  clothing,  when 
he  went  to  college  her  frugality  had  saved  up  the  necessary 
money.  She  used  to  say,  "  Somebody  has  got  to  make  a  sac 
rifice,"  and  she  sacrificed  herself.  It  is  good  to  know  that  on 
Christmas  Day,  1891,  half  a  year  before  she  died,  she  broke 
bread  with  husband  and  all  four  sons  at  the  old  Georgetown 
home. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  Angeline  Hall  reached  the 
perfection  of  motherhood.  I  make  no  such  claim.  The  Gay 
Street  home  was  the  embodiment  of  her  spirit;  and  as  she 
was  a  Puritan,  her  sons  suffered  sometimes  from  her  excess 
of  Puritanism.  They  neither  drank  nor  used  tobacco;  but 
fortunately  their  father  taught  them  to  play  cards.  Their 
mother  brought  them  up  to  believe  in  woman  suffrage;  but 
fortunately  Cupid  provided  them  wives  regardless  of  such 
creed.  She  taught  them  to  eschew  pride,  sending  them  to 
gather  leaves  in  the  streets,  covering  their  garments  with 
patches,  discouraging  the  use  of  razors  on  incipient  beards ; 
but  fortunately  a  boy's  companions  take  such  nonsense  out 
of  him.  She  even  left  a  case  of  chills  and  fever  to  the  misdi 
rected  mercies  of  a  woman  doctor,  a  homceopathist.  I  my 
self  was  the  victim,  and  for  twenty-five  years  I  have  ab 
horred  women  homoeopathic  physicians. 


IO2  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

But  such  trivial  faults  are  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
depths  of  a  mother's  love.  To  all  that  is  intrinsically  noble 
and  beautiful  she  was  keenly  sensitive.  How  good  it  was  to 
see  her  exult  in  the  glories  of  a  Maryland  sunset — viewed 
from  the  housetop  with  her  boys  about  her.  And  how 
strange  that  this  timid  woman  could  allow  them  to  risk  their 
precious  necks  on  the  roof  of  a  three-story  house! 

Perhaps  her  passion  for  the  beautiful  was  most  strikingly 
displayed  in  the  cultivation  of  her  garden.  To  each  son  she 
dedicated  a  rose-bush.  There  was  one  for  her  husband  and 
another  for  his  mother.  In  a  shady  part  of  the  yard  grew 
lilies  of  the  valley;  and  gladiolas,  Easter  lilies  and  other 
varieties  of  lilies  were  scattered  here  and  there.  In  the 
early  spring  there  were  crocuses  and  hyacinths  and  daffo 
dils.  Vines  trailed  along  the  fences  and  climbed  the  sides 
of  the  house.  She  was  especially  fond  of  her  English  ivy. 
Honeysuckles  flourished,  hollyhocks  ran  riot  even  in  the 
front  yard,  morning-glories  blossomed  west  of  the  house,  by 
the  front  porch  grew  a  sweet-briar  rose  with  its  fragrant 
leaves,  and  by  the  bay  windows  bloomed  blue  and  white 
wisterias.  A  magnolia  bush  stood  near  the  parlor  window, 
a  forsythia  by  the  front  fence,  and  by  the  side  alley  a  beauti 
ful  flowering  bush  with  a  dome  of  white  blossoms.  The 
flower  beds  were  literally  crowded,  so  that  humming  birds, 
in  their  gorgeous  plumage,  were  frequent  visitors.  In  child 
hood  Mrs.  Hall  had  loved  the  wild  flowers  of  her  native 
woods  and  fields ;  and  in  the  woods  back  of  Georgetown  she 
sought  out  her  old  friends  and  brought  them  home  to  take 
root  in  her  yard,  coaxing  their  growth  with  rich  wood's 
earth,  found  in  the  decayed  stump  of  some  old  tree. 


THE  GAY  STREET  HOME.  103 

Thus  the  following  poem,  like  all  her  poems,  was  but  the 
expression  of  herself: 

ASPIRATION. 
The  violet  dreams  forever  of  the  sky, 

Until  at  last  she  wakens  wondrous  fair, 
With  heaven's  own  azure  in  her  dewy  eye, 

And  heaven's  own  fragrance  in  her  earthly  air. 

The  lily  folds  close  in  her  heart  the  beams 
That  the  pure  stars  reach  to  her  deeps  below, 

Till  o'er  the  waves  her  answering  brightness  gleams-— 
A  star  hath  flowered  within  her  breast  of  snow. 

The  rose  that  watches  at  the  gates  of  morn, 
While  pours  through  heaven  the  splendor  of  the  sun, 

Needs  none  to  tell  us  whence  her  strength  is  born, 
Nor  where  her  crown  of  glory  she  hath  won. 

And  every  flower  that  blooms  on  hill  or  plain 

In  the  dull  soil  hath  most  divinely  wrought 
To  haunting  perfume  or  to  heavenly  stain 

The  sweetness  born  of  her  aspiring  thought. 

O  yearnful  soul  of  infinite  desire! 

With  what  expectancy  we  wait  the  hour 
When  all  the  hopes  to  which  thou  dost  aspire 

Shall  in  the  holiness  of  beauty  flower. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN. 

The  desire  of  knowledge  is  a  powerful  instinct  of  the  soul,  as 

inherent  in  woman  as  in  man It  was  designed  to  be  gratified, 

all  the  avenues  of  her  soul  are  open  for  its  gratification.  Her  every 
sense  is  as  perfect  as  man's:  her  hand  is  as  delicate  in  its  touch, 
her  ear  as  acute  in  hearing,  her  eye  the  same  in  its  wonderful 
mechanism,  her  brain  sends  out  the  same  two-fold  telegraphic  net 
work.  She  is  endowed  with  the  same  consciousness,  the  same  power 
of  perception.  Every  attribute  of  his  soul  is  hers  also.  From  her 
very  organization  she  is  manifestly  formed  for  the  pursuit  of  the 
same  knowledge,  for  the  attainment  of  the  same  virtue,  for  the  un 
folding  of  the  same  truth.  Whatever  aids  man  in  the  pursuit  of  any 
one  of  these  objects  must  aid  her  also.  Let  woman  then  reject  the 
philosophy  of  a  narrow  prejudice  or  of  false  custom,  and  trust  im 
plicitly  to  God's  glorious  handwriting  on  every  folded  tissue  of  her 
body,  on  every  tablet  of  her  soul.  Let  her  seek  for  the  highest  cul 
ture  of  brain  and  heart.  Let  her  apply  her  talent  to  the  highest  use. 
In  so  doing  will  the  harmony  of  her  being  be  perfect.  Brain  and 
heart  according  well  will  make  one  music.  All  the  bright  intellec 
tions  of  the  mind,  all  the  beautiful  affections  of  the  heart  will  to 
gether  form  one  perfect  crystal  around  the  pole  of  Truth. 

From  these  words  of  hers  it  appears  that  Angeline  Hall 
believed  in  a  well-rounded  life  for  women  as  well  as  for 
men ;  and  to  the  best  of  her  ability  she  lived  up  to  her  creed. 
Physically  deficient  herself,  she  heralded  the  advent  of  the 
American  woman — the  peer  of  Spartan  mother,  Roman 
matron  or  modern  European  dame.  Her  ideal  could  hardly 


PHOTOGRAPH   OF   1878 


AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN.  105 

be  called  "  the  new  woman,"  for  she  fulfilled  the  duties  of 
wife  and  mother  with  the  utmost  devotion.  Among  college 
women  she  was  a  pioneer ;  and  perhaps  the  best  type  of  col 
lege  woman  corresponds  to  her  ideal. 

In  person  she  was  not  remarkable — height  about  five  feet 
three  inches,  weight  with  clothing  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  pounds.  In  middle  life  she  was  considerably 
bent  over,  more  from  years  of  toil  than  from  physical  weak 
ness.  Nervous  strength  was  lacking;  and  early  in  life  she 
lost  her  teeth.  But  her  frame  was  well  developed,  her  waist 
being  as  large  as  a  Greek  goddess's,  for  she  scorned  the  use 
of  corsets.  Her  smooth  skin  was  of  fine  stout  texture.  Her 
well-shaped  head  was  adorned  by  thin  curls  of  wonderfully 
fine,  dark  hair,  which  even  at  the  time  of  death  showed 
hardly  a  trace  of  white.  Straight  mouth,  high  forehead, 
strong  brow,  large  straight  nose,  and  beautiful  brown  eyes 
indicated  a  woman  of  great  spiritual  force. 

She  cared  little  for  adornment,  believing  that  the  person 
is  attractive  if  the  soul  is  good.  Timid  in  the  face  of  physi 
cal  danger,  she  was  endowed  with  great  moral  courage  and 
invincible  resolution.  She  used  to  speak  of  "  going  along 
and  doing  something,"  and  of  "  doing  a  little  every  day." 
Friends  and  relatives  found  in  her  a  wise  counsellor  and 
fearless  leader.  She  was  gifted  with  intellect  of  a  high 
order — an  unquenchable  thirst  for  knowledge,  a  good  mem 
ory,  excellent  mathematical  ability,  and  the  capacity  for 
mental  labor.  But  her  sense  of  duty  controlled,  and  she  de 
voted  her  talents  to  the  service  of  others. 

Unlike  Lady  Macbeth  in  other  respects,  she  was  suited  to 
bear  men-children.  And,  thanks  to  her  true  womanhood, 
she  nursed  them  at  the  breast.  There  were  no  bottle  babies 


io6  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

in  the  Hall  family.  Tradition  has  it  that  she  endured  the 
pains  of  childbirth  with  unusual  fortitude,  hardly  needing 
a  physician.  But  this  seeming  strength  was  due  in  part  to 
an  unwise  modesty. 

With  hardly  enough  strength  for  the  duties  of  each  day, 
she  did  work  enough  for  two  women  through  sheer  force  of 
will.  It  is  not  surprising  then  that  she  died,  in  the  sixty- 
second  year  of  her  age,  from  a  stroke  of  apoplexy.  She  was 
by  no  means  apoplectic  in  appearance,  being  rather  a  pale 
person ;  but  the  blood-vessels  of  the  brain  were  worn  out  and 
could  no  longer  withstand  the  pressure.  In  the  fall  of  1881, 
after  the  death  of  her  sister  Mary  and  of  Nellie  Woodward, 
daughter  of  her  sister  Ruth,  she  was  the  victim  of  a  serious 
sickness,  which  continued  for  six  months  or  more.  Friends 
thought  she  would  die;  but  her  sister  Ruth  came  and  took 
care  of  her,  and  saved  her  for  ten  more  years  of  usefulness. 
She  lived  to  see  her  youngest  son  through  college,  attended 
his  Class  Day,  and  died  a  few  days  after  his  graduation. 

The  motive  power  of  her  life  was  religious  faith — a  faith 
that  outgrew  all  forms  of  superstition.  Brought  up  to  ac 
cept  the  narrow  theology  of  her  mother's  church,  she  be 
came  a  Unitarian.  The  eldest  son  was  sent  regularly  to  the 
Unitarian  Sunday  School  in  Washington ;  but  a  quarrel  aris 
ing  in  the  church,  she  quietly  withdrew,  and  thereafter  as 
sumed  the  whole  responsibility  of  training  her  sons  in  Chris 
tian  morals.  Subsequently  she  took  a  keen  interest  in  the 
Concord  School  of  Philosophy ;  and,  adopting  her  husband's 
view,  she  looked  to  science  for  the  regeneration  of  mankind. 
In  this  she  was  not  altogether  wise,  for  her  own  experience 
had  proven  that  the  advancement  of  knowledge  depends 
upon  a  divine  enthusiasm,  which  must  be  fed  by  a  religion 


AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN.  107 

of  some  sort.     Fortunately,  she  was  possessed  of  a  poetic 
soul,  and  she  never  lost  religious  feeling. 

The  following  poem  illustrates  very  well  the  faith  of  her 
later  life : 

To  SCIENCE. 
I. 

Friend  of  our  race,  O  Science,  strong  and  wise ! 

Though  thou  wast  scorned  and  wronged  and  sorely  tried, 

Bound  and  imprisoned,  racked  and  crucified, 

Thou  dost  in  life  invulnerable  rise 

The  glorious  leader  'gainst  our  enemies. 

Thou  art  Truth's  champion  for  the  domain  wide 

Ye  twain  shall  conquer  fighting  side  by  side. 

Knowledge  and  Freedom  are  thy  great  allies. 

Thus  thou  art  strong,  and  able  thou  to  cope 

With  all  thy  enemies  that  yet  remain. 

They  fly  already  from  the  open  plain, 

And  climb,  hard-pressed,  far  up  the  rugged  slope. 

We  hear  thy  bugle  sound  o'er  land  and  sea 

And  know  that  victory  abides  with  thee. 

II. 

Because  thou'st  conquered  all  one  little  world 
Thou  never  like  the  ancient  king  dost  weep, 
But  like  the  brave  Ulysses,  on  the  deep 
Dost  launch  thy  bark,  and,  all  its  sails  unfurled, 
Dost  search  for  new  worlds  which  may  lie  impearled 
By  happy  islands  where  the  billows  sleep; 
Or  into  sunless  seas  dost  fearless  sweep, 
Braving  the  tempest  which  is  round  thee  hurled; 
Or,  bolder  still,  mounting  where  far  stars  shine, 
From  conquest  unto  conquest  thou  dost  rise 
And  hold'st  dominion  over  realms  divine, 
Where,  clear  defined  unto  thy  piercing  eyes, 
And  fairer  than  Faith's  yearnful  heart  did  ween 
Stretches  the  vastness  of  the  great  Unseen. 


io8  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

III. 

E'en  where  thy  sight  doth  fail  thou  givest  not  o'er, 

But  still  "  beyond  the  red  "  thy  spectraphone 

The  ray  invisible  transforms  to  tone, 

Thus  winning  from  the  silence  more  and  more; 

Wherein  thou  buildest  new  worlds  from  shore  to  shore 

With  hills  perpetual  and  with  mountains  lone; 

To  music  moving  pond'rous  stone  on  stone 

As  unto  Orpheus'  lyre  they  moved  of  yore. 

Still,  Science,  lightning-winged!  thy  way  pursue! 

Beyond  the  farthest  sweep  of  farthest  sun, 

Beyond  the  music  of  the  sounding  spheres 

Which  chant  the  measures  of  the  months  and  years, 

Toward  realms  that  e'en  to  daring  Thought  are  new 

Still  let  thy  flying  feet  unwearied  run. 

IV. 

O,  friend  of  Faith !  let  her  not  deem  thee  foe, 

Though  thou  dost  drive  her  from  the  Paradise 

To  which  she  clings  with  backward  turning  eyes, 

Thou  art  her  angel  still,  and  biddest  her  go 

To  wider  lands  where  the  great  rivers  flow, 

And  broad  and  green  many  a  valley  lies, 

Where  high  and  grand  th'  eternal  mountains  rise, 

And  oceans  fathomless  surge  to  and  fro. 

Thus  thou  dost  teach  her  that  God's  true  and  real, 

Fairer  and  grander  than  her  dreams  must  be; 

Till  she  shall  leave  the  realm  of  the  Ideal 

To  follow  Truth  throughout  the  world  with  thee, 

Through  earth  and  sea  and  up  beyond  the  sun 

Until  the  mystery  of  God  is  won. 

Whatever  the  literary  defects,  these  are  noble  sonnets. 
But  I  had  rather  take  my  chances  in  a  good  Unitarian 


AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN.  109 

church  than  try  to  nourish  the  soul  with  such  Platonic  love 
of  God.  She  disliked  the  Unitarian  habit  of  clinging  to 
church  traditions  and  ancient  forms  of  worship;  but  better 
these  than  the  materialism  of  a  scientific  age. 

Perhaps  I  do  her  an  injustice.  She  was  absolutely  loyal 
to  truth,  not  guilty  of  that  shuffling  attitude  of  modern  the 
ologians  who  have  outgrown  the  superstition  of  Old  Testa 
ment  only  to  cling  more  tenaciously  to  the  superstition  of  the 
New.  In  the  Concord  School  of  Philosophy,  and  later  in 
her  studies  as  a  member  of  the  Ladies'  Historical  Society 
of  Washington,  she  was  searching  for  the  new  faith  that 
should  fulfil  the  old.  It  might  be  of  interest  here  to  intro 
duce  selections  from  some  of  her  Historical  Society  essays, 
into  the  composition  of  which  she  entered  with  great  earnest 
ness.  Written  toward  the  close  of  life,  they  still  retain  the 
freshness  and  unspoiled  enthusiasm  of  youth.  One  speci 
men  must  suffice : 

In  thinking  of  Galileo,  and  the  office  of  the  telescope,  which  is  to 
give  us  increase  of  light,  and  of  the  increasing  power  of  the  larger 
and  larger  lenses,  which  widens  our  horizon  to  infinity,  this  con 
stantly  .recurring  thought  comes  to  me:  how  shall  we  grow  into  the 
immensity  that  is  opening  before  us  ?  The  principle  of  light  pervades 
all  space — it  travels  from  star  to  star  and  makes  known  to  us  all 
objects  on  earth  and  in  heaven.  The  great  ether  throbs  and  thrills 
with  its  burden  to  the  remotest  star  as  with  a  joy.  But  there  is  also 
an  all-pervading  force,  so  subtile  that  we  know  not  yet  how  it  passes 
through  the  illimitable  space.  But  before  it  all  worlds  fall  into 
divine  order  and  harmony.  It  is  gravitation.  It  imparts  the  power 
of  one  to  all,  and  gathers  from  all  for  the  one.  What  in  the  soul 
answers  to  these  two  principles  is,  first,  also  light  or  knowledge,  by 
which  all  things  are  unveiled;  the  other  which  answers  to  gravita 
tion,  and  before  which  all  shall  come  into  proper  relations,  and 


no  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

into  the  heavenly  harmony,  and  by  which  we  shall  fill  the  heavens 
with  ourselves,  and  ourselves  with  heaven,  is  love. 

This  is  better  than  most  philosophy.  But  after  all,  Ange- 
line  Hall  gave  herself  to  duty  and  not  to  philosophy — to  the 
plain,  monotonous  work  of  home  and  neighborhood.  Like 
the  virtuous  woman  of  Scripture,  she  supplied  with  her  own 
hands  the  various  family  wants — cooked  with  great  skill, 
canned  abundance  of  fruit  for  winter,  and  supplied  the  table 
from  day  to  day  with  plain,  wholesome  food.  Would  that 
she  might  have  taught  Bostonians  to  bake  beans!  If  they 
would  try  her  method,  they  would  discover  that  a  mutton 
bone  is  an  excellent  substitute  for  pork.  Pork  and  lard  she 
banished  from  her  kitchen.  Beef  suet  is,  indeed,  much 
cleaner.  The  chief  article  of  diet  was  meat,  for  Mrs.  Hall 
was  no  vegetarian,  and  the  Georgetown  markets  supplied 
the  best  of  Virginia  beef  and  mutton.  Like  the  virtuous 
woman  of  Scripture,  she  provided  the  family  with  warm 
clothing,  and  kept  it  in  repair.  A  large  part  of  her  life  was 
literally  spent  in  mending  clothes.  She  never  relaxed  the 
rigid  economy  of  Cambridge  days.  She  commonly  needed 
but  one  servant,  for  she  worked  with  her  own  hands  and 
taught  her  sons  to  help  her.  The  house  was  always  substan 
tially  clean  from  roof  to  cellar.  No  corner  was  neglected. 
Nowhere  on  the  whole  premises  was  a  bad  smell  tolerated. 

While  family  wants  were  scrupulously  attended  to,  she- 
stretched  forth  a  hand  to  the  poor.  The  Civil  War  filled 
Washington  with  negroes,  and  for  several  winters  Mrs. 
Hall  helped  to  distribute  supplies  among  them.  In  1872 
she  was  "  Directress  "  of  the  tenth,  eleventh  and  twelfth 
wards ;  and  for  a  long  time  she  was  a  member  of  a  benevo 
lent  society  in  Georgetown,  having  charge  of  a  section  of 


AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN.  HI 

the  city  near  her  residence.  For  the  last  fourteen  years  of 
her  life,  she  visited  the  Home  for  Destitute  Colored  Women 
and  Children  in  north  Washington.  Her  poor  colored  neigh 
bors  regarded  her  with  much  esteem.  She  listened  to  their 
stories  of  distress,  comforted  them,  advised  them.  The  aged 
she  admitted  to  her  warm  kitchen ;  and  they  went  away, 
victuals  in  their  baskets  or  coins  in  their  hands,  with  the 
sense  of  having  a  friend  in  Mrs.  Hall.  Uncle  Louis,  said 
to  be  one  hundred  and  fourteen  years  old,  rewarded  her 
with  a  grape-vine,  which  was  planted  by  the  dining  room 
window.  And  "  the  Uncle  Louis  grape  "  was  the  best  in  the 
garden. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  she  even  undertook  to  re 
deem  two  fallen  Irish  women  by  taking  them  into  her  house 
to  work.  But  their  appetite  for  whiskey  was  too  strong,  and 
they  would  steal  butter,  barter  it  for  liquor,  and  come  home 
drunk.  On  one  occasion  one  of  these  women  took  little 
Asaph  along  to  visit  the  saloon ;  and  there  his  mother  found 
him,  with  the  servant  standing  by  joking  with  rough  men, 
her  dress  in  shreds. 

Mrs.  Hall  had  no  time  or  strength  for  such  charitable  en 
terprises,  and  soon  abandoned  them.  She  was  saved  from 
most  of  the  follies  of  philanthropy  by  the  good  sense  of  her 
husband,  whom  she  rewarded  with  the  devotion  of  a  faith 
ful  wife.  His  studies  and  researches,  almost  from  the  first, 
were  much  too  deep  for  her  entire  comprehension,  but  she 
was  always  enthusiastic  about  his  work.  In  the  introduction 
to  his  "'  Observations  and  Orbits  of  the  Satellites  of  Mars," 
Professor  Hall  chivalrously  says: 

In  the  spring  of  1877,  the  approaching  favorable  opposition  of  the 
planet  Mars  attracted  my  attention,  and  the  idea  occurred  to  me  of 


H2  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

making  a  careful  search  with  our  large  Clark  refractor  for  a  satellite 
of  this  planet.  An  examination  of  the  literature  of  the  planet  showed, 
however,  such  a  mass  of  observations  of  various  kinds,  made  by  the 
most  experienced  and  skillful  astronomers  that  the  chance  of  finding 
a  satellite  appeared  to  be  very  slight,  so  that  I  might  have  abandoned 
the  search  had  it  not  been  for  the  encouragement  of  my  wife. 

In  fact,  Mrs.  Hall  was  full  of  enthusiasm.  Each  night 
she  sent  her  husband  to  the  observatory  supplied  with  a  nour 
ishing  lunch,  and  each  night  she  awaited  developments  with 
eager  interest.  I  can  well  remember  the  excitement  at  home. 
There  was  a  great  secret  in  the  house,  and  all  the  members 
of  the  family  were  drawn  more  closely  together  by  mutual 
confidence. 

The  moral  and  intellectual  training  of  her  sons  has  already 
been  referred  to.  Summer  vacations  were  often  spent  with 
her  sisters  in  Rodman,  N.  Y.  Her  mother,  who  reached  the 
age  of  eighty  years,  died  in  the  summer  of  1878,  when  Mrs. 
Hall  became  the  head  of  the  Stickney  family.  Her  sisters 
Mary  and  Elmina  were  childless.  Ruth  had  six  children,  in 
whose  welfare  their  Aunt  Angeline  took  a  lively  interest. 
The  three  girls  each  spent  a  winter  with  her  in  Washington, 
and  when,  in  the  summer  of  1881,  Nellie  was  seized  with  a 
fatal  illness,  Aunt  Angeline  was  present  to  care  for  her. 
Now  and  then  Charlotte  Ingalls,  who  had  prospered  in  Wis 
consin,  would  come  on  from  the  West,  and  the  Stickney 
sisters  would  all  be  together.  The  last  reunion  occurred  in 
the  summer  of  1891,  a  year  previous  to  Angeline's  death. 
It  was  a  goodly  sight  to  see  the  sisters  in  one  wagon,  near 
the  old  home  place ;  and  when,  at  Elmina's  house,  Angeline 
was  bustling  about  attending  to  the  needs  of  the  united  fam- 


AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN.  113 

ily,  it  was  good  to  hear  Charlotte  exclaim,  "  Take  care,  old 
lady !  "  She  was  thirteen  years  older  than  Angeline,  and 
seemed  almost  to  belong  to  an  earlier  generation.  She  re 
membered  her  father  well,  and  had  no  doubt  acquired  from 
him  some  of  the  ancient  New  Hampshire  customs  lost  to  her 
younger  sisters.  Certainly  her  exclamations  of  "  Fiddle 
sticks,"  and  "  Witch-cats,"  were  quaint  and  picturesque. 

But  it  was  Angeline  who  was  really  best  versed  in  the 
family  history.  She  had  made  a  study  of  it,  in  all  its 
branches,  and  could  trace  her  descent  from  at  least  eleven 
worthy  Englishmen,  most  of  whom  arrived  in  New  England 
before  1650.  She  made  excursions  to  various  points  in  New 
England  in  search  of  relatives.  At  Belchertown,  Mass.,  in 
1884,  she  found  her  grandfather  Cook's  first  cousin,  Mr. 
Thomas  Sabin.  He  was  then  one  hundred  years  old,  and  re 
membered  how  in  boyhood  he  used  to  go  skating  with  Elisha 
Cook. 

How  brief  the  history  of  America  in  the  presence  of  such 
a  man!  I  remember  seeing  an  old  New  Englander,  as  late 
as  1900,  who  as  a  boy  of  eleven  years  had  seen  General  La 
fayette.  It  was  a  treat  to  hear  him  describe  the  courteous 
Frenchman,  slight  of  stature,  bent  with  age,  but  active  and 
polite  enough  to  alight  from  the  stage-coach  to  shake  hands 
with  the  people  assembled  to  welcome  him  in  the  little  vil 
lage  of  Charlton,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Hall  had  no  time  for  travel.  At  the  close  of  life  she 
longed  to  visit  Europe,  but  death  intervened,  and  her  days 
were  spent  in  her  native  country.  She  passed  two  summers 
in  the  mountains  of  Virginia.  In  1878,  with  her  little  son 
Percival,  she  accompanied  her  husband  to  Colorado,  to  ob- 


H4  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

serve  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun.  Three  years  before  they 
had  taken  the  whole  family  to  visit  her  sister  Charlotte's 
people  in  Wisconsin. 

It  was  through  her  family  loyalty  that  she  acquired  the 
Adirondack  habit.  In  the  summer  of  1882,  after  the  severe 
sickness  of  the  preceding  winter,  she  was  staying  with  a 
cousin's  son,  a  country  doctor,  in  Washington  County,  N. 
Y.  He  proposed  an  outing  in  the  invigorating  air  of  the 
Adirondacks.  And  so,  with  her  three  youngest  sons  and  the 
doctor's  family,  she  drove  to  Indian  Lake,  and  camped  there 
about  a  week.  Her  improvement  was  so  marked  that  the 
next  summer,  accompanied  by  three  sons  and  her  sister 
Ruth,  she  drove  into  the  wilderness  from  the  West,  camp 
ing  a  few  days  in  a  log  cabin  by  the  side  of  Piseco  Lake.  In 
1885,  setting  out  from  Rodman  again,  she  drove  four  hun 
dred  miles,  passing  north  of  the  mountains  to  Paul  Smith's, 
and  thence  to  Saranac  Lake  village,  John  Brown's  farm, 
Keene  Valley,  and  Lake  George,  and  returning  by  way  of 
the  Mohawk  Valley.  In  1888  she  camped  with  the  three 
youngest  sons  on  Lower  Saranac,  and  in  1890  she  spent  July 
and  August  at  the  summer  school  of  Thomas  Davidson,  on 
the  side  of  Mt.  Hurricane.  One  day  I  escorted  her  and  her 
friend  Miss  Sarah  Waitt  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  four  or 
five  miles  distant,  and  we  spent  the  night  on  the  summit  be 
fore  a  blazing  camp-fire.  Two  years  later  she  was  planning 
another  Adirondack  trip  when  death  overtook  her — at  the 
house  of  her  friend  Mrs.  Berrian,  at  North  Andover,  Mass., 
July  3,  1892. 

Her  poem  "  Heracles,"  written  towards  the  close  of  her 
career,  fittingly  describes  her  own  herculean  labors : 


AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN.  115 

HERACLES. 
I. 

Genius  of  labor,  mighty  Heracles ! 

Though  bound  by  fate  to  do  another's  will, 

Not  basely,  as  a  slave,  dost  thou  fulfil 

The  appointed  task.     The  eye  of  God  to  please 

Thou  seekest,  and  man  to  bless,  and  not  thy  ease. 

So  to  thy  wearying  toil  thou  addest  still 

New  labors,  to  redeem  some  soul  from  ill, 

Performing  all  thy  generous  mind  conceives. 

From  the  sea-monster's  jaws  thy  arm  did  free, 

And  from  her  chains,  the  fair  Hesione. 

And  when  Alcestis,  who  her  lord  to  save, 

Her  life  instead  a  sacrifice  she  gave, 

Then  wast  thou  near  with  heart  that  never  quailed, 

And  o'er  Death's  fearful  form  thy  might  prevailed. 

II. 

Because  thou  chosest  virtue,  when  for  thee 
Vice  her  alluring  charms  around  thee  spread, 
The  gods,  approving,  smiled  from  overhead, 
And  gave  to  thee  thy  shining  panoply. 
Then  wentest  thou  forth  to  certain  victory. 
Nature  obedient  to  thy  will  was  led, 
Out  rushed  the  rivers  from  their  ancient  bed 
And  washed  the  filth  of  earth  into  the  sea. 
When  'gainst  thy  foes  thy  arrows  all  were  spent, 
Zeus  stones  instead,  in  whirling  snow-cloud  sent. 
When  with  sore  heat  oppressed,  O  wearied  one ! 
Thou  thought'st  to  aim  thy  arrows  at  the  sun, 
Then  Helios  sent  his  golden  boat  to  thee 
To  bear  thee  safely  through  the  trackless  sea. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


A  BUNDLE  OF  LETTERS. 

The  letters  of  Angeline  Hall  are  genuine  letters — not 
meant  for  publication,  but  for  the  eyes  of  the  persons  ad 
dressed.  The  style,  even  the  spelling  and  punctuation,  are 
faulty;  and  the  subject-matter  in  most  cases  can  have  no 
general  interest.  However,  I  have  selected  a  few  of  her  let 
ters,  which  I  trust  will  be  readable,  and  which  may  help  to 
give  a  truer  conception  of  the  astronomer's  wife : 

RODMAN,  July  26,  '66. 

DEAREST  ASAPHI:  I  am  at  Mother's  this  morning.  Staid  over  to 
help  see  to  Ruth,  and  now  cannot  get  back  over  to  Elminas,  all  so 
busy  at  their  work,  have  no  time  to  carry  me,  then  Franklin  is  sick 
half  the  time.  I  shall  probably  get  over  there  in  a  day  or  two.  I 
have  had  no  letters  from  you  since  a  week  ago  last  night,  have  had 
no  opportunity  to  send  to  the  Office. 

Ruth  and  baby  are  doing  well.  Franklin  has  finished  his  haying 
but  has  a  little  hoing  to  do  yet — Constant  is  trying  to  get  his  work 
along  so  that  he  will  be  ready  to  take  you  around  when  you  come. 
He  wishes  you  to  write  when  you  will  come  so  that  he  can  arrange 
his  work  accordingly.  I  hope  you  will  come  by  the  middle  of 
August. 

The  children  are  pretty  well.  Sarnie  has  some  cold.  He  thinks 
you  have  forsaken  him.  When  I  ask  him  now  where  is  papa,  he 
says  "  no  papa."  I  have  weaned  him.  he  stayed  with  Aunt  Mary 
three  nights  while  I  was  taking  care  of  Ruth.  He  eats  his  bread 
and  milk  very  well  now.  Little  "  A "  has  been  a  very  good  boy 


A  BUNDLE  OF  LETTERS.  117 

indeed,  a  real  little  man.  I  bought  him  and  Homer  some  nice  bows 
and  arrows  of  an  Indian  who  brought  them  into  the  cars  to  sell  just 
this  side  of  Rome,  so  that  he  shoots  at  a  mark  with  Grandfather 
Woodward. 

I  suppose  Adelaide  starts  for  Goshen  next  week.  I  have  received 
two  letters  from  her. 

Now  do  come  up  here  as  soon  as  you  can.  I  do  not  enjoy  my  visit 
half  so  well  without  you.  I  am  going  out  with  Mary  after  raspberries 
this  morning — Little  Samie  is  very  fond  of  them. 

Affectionately 

ANGELINE  HALL. 


GEORGETOWN  Sept.  28  [1868] 

DEAR  SISTER  MARY  Little  Angelo  is  only  twelve  days  old,  but  he 
is  as  bright  and  smart  as  can  be.  I  have  washed  and  dressed  him 
for  four  days  myself.  I  have  been  down  to  the  gate  to-day.  And 
have  sewed  most  all  day,  so  you  see  I  am  pretty  well. 

To  day  is  Sarnie's  birthday,  four  years  old — he  is  quite  well  and 
happy — The  baby  he  says  is  his. 

How  do  you  all  do.  I  should  like  very  much  to  take  a  peep  at 
you  in  your  new  home.  Do  you  like  it?  We  like  our  old  place 
better  and  better  all  the  time.  You  must  write  to  me  as  soon  as  you 
can.  Do  you  get  your  mail  at  Adams  Centre?  Have  you  any  apples 
in  that  vicinity  this  year? 

Mr.  Hall  has  just  been  reading  in  the  newspaper  a  sketch  of  Henry 
Keep's  life  which  says  he  was  once  in  the  Jefferson  Co.  Poor  house, 
is  it  true? 

Much  love  to  you  all 

ANGELINE  HALL. 

GEORGETOWN  March  3rd  1871 

DEAR  SISTER  MARY:  We  received  your  letter,  also  the  tub  of 
apples  and  cider.  I  have  made  some  apple  sauce,  it  is  splendid.  I 
have  not  had  one  bit  of  boiled  cider  apple  sauce  before  since  we  came 
to  Washington.  I  shall  try  to  pay  you  for  all  your  expense  and 


n8  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

trouble  sometime.  I  would  send  you  some  fresh  shad  if  I  was  sure 
it  would  keep  to  get  to  you.  We  had  some  shad  salted  last  spring 
but  it  is  not  very  nice.  I  think  was  not  put  up  quite  right,  so  it  is 
hardly  fit  to  send. 

We  are  all  very  well.  Sammie  has  had  a  little  ear-ache  this  week 
but  is  better.  Angelo  is  the  nicest  little  boy  you  ever  saw. 

It  is  raining  this  morning.  A  man  came  to  spade  the  ground  to 
sow  our  peas  but  it  began  to  rain  just  as  he  got  here,  so  we  shall 
have  to  wait  a  few  days.  My  crocuses  and  daffodils  are  budded  to 
blossom,  and'  the  sweet-scented  English  violets  are  in  bloom,  filling 
the  parlors  here  with  fragrance.  I  do  like  the  spring  here  so  much. 
We  do  not  have  to  wait  for  it,  but  before  we  are  aware  it  is  here. 

You  must  write  often.  I  think  we  shall  make  you  a  little  visit  this 
summer.  How  are  Father  and  Mother  and  Constant  and  yourself? 
Much  love  to  you  all  from  all  of  us. 

Affectionately 

ANGELINE  HALL. 

GEORGETOWN  Jan.  i8th  '74 

DEAR  SISTER  MARY  :  I  am  getting  very  anxious  to  hear  from  you. 
Little  "  A "  commenced  a  letter  to  you  during  his  vacation,  and 
copied  those  verses  you  sent  so  as  to  send  the  original  back  to  you 
But  he  did  not  finish  his  letter  and  I  fear  he  will  not  have  time  to 
write  again  for  some  time  as  his  studies  take  almost  every  minute 
he  can  spare  from  eating  and  sleeping.  We  are  all  well.  Baby  grows 
smart  and  handsome  all  the  time. 

Angelo  keeps  fat  and  rosy  though  we  have  to  be  careful  of  him. 
Samie  is  getting  taller  and  taller,  and  can  not  find  time  to  play 
enough.  Mother  Hall  is  with  us  this  winter,  is  helping  me  about  the 
sewing. 

How  is  Mother  and  yourself  and  all?  I  hope  you  are  all  well. 
You  must  dress  warm  so  as  not  to  take  cold.  Have  you  got  any 
body  to  help  you  this  winter?  Write  all  the  news.  Has  Salina  gone 
to  the  music  school? 

I  will  try  to  write  again  soon.  Must  write  to  Elmina  in  a  day  or 
two. 


A  BUNDLE  OF  LETTERS.  119 

The  baby  thinks  Granpa's  saw-man  is  the  nicest  thing  he  can  find. 
Angelo  is  so  choice  of  it  he  will  not  let  him  touch  it  often. 

Affectionately 

ANGELINE. 


GEORGETOWN  March  22nd  [1877  probably] 

DEAR  SISTER  MARY  :  We  are  working  on  our  grounds  some  as  the 
weather  permits.  It  will  be  very  pretty  here  when  we  get  it  done. 
And  our  house  is  as  convenient  as  can  be  now.  Tell  Mother  I  have 
set  out  a  rose  bush  for  her,  and  am  going  to  plant  one  for  Grandma 
Hall  too. 

Sarnie  has  improved  a  great  deal  the  last  year,  he  is  getting  stout 
and  tall.  Angelo  is  as  fat  as  a  pig  and  as  keen  as  a  knife.  Percy 
is  a  real  nice  little  boy,  he  has  learned  most  of  his  letters.  Asaph  Jr. 
will  go  ahead  of  his  Father  yet  if  he  keeps  his  health.  I  never  saw  a 
boy  of  his  age  study  as  he  does,  every  thing  must  be  right,  and  be 
understood  before  he  will  go  an  inch. 

I  am  pretty  well,  but  have  to  be  careful,  if  I  get  sick  a  little  am 
sure  to  have  a  little  malarial  fever. 

Much  love  to  you  all  and  write  soon  telling  me  how  Mother  is. 

Affectionately 

ANGELINE  HALL. 


RODMAN  Aug.  i3th  1881 

DEAR  ASAPH,  Yesterday  we  buried  Nellie  over  in  the  cemetery  on 
Grandfather's  old  farm  in  Rodman.  You  can  not  think  how  beauti 
ful  and  grand  she  looked.  She  had  improved  very  much  since  she 
was  at  our  house,  and  I  see  she  had  many  friends.  I  think  she  was 
a  superior  girl,  but  too  sensitive  and  ambitious  to  live  in  this  world 
so  cramped  and  hedged  about.  She  went  down  to  help  Mary,  and 
Mr.  Wright's  people  came  for  her  to  go  up  and  help  them  as  Mrs. 
Wright  was  sick,  so  Nellie  went  up  there  and  washed  and  worked 
very  hard  and  came  back  to  Mary's  completely  exhausted,  and  I 
fhink  she  had  a  congestive  chill  to  begin  with  and  another  when  she 
died. 


120  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

The  little  boys  and  I  are  at  Elminas.  I  came  over  to  rest  a  little, 
am  about  used  up.  One  of  the  neighbors  has  just  come  over  saying 
that  Mary  died  last  night  at  nine  o'clock,  and  will  be  buried  to 
morrow.  So  to-morrow  morning  I  suppose  I  shall  go  back  over  to 
Constant's,  do  not  know  how  long  I  shall  stay  there. 

I  wish  to  know  how  you  are  getting  on  at  home.  Keep  well  if  you 
can. 

Tell  Asaph  and  Sarnie  to  write. 

With  Much  Love 

C.  A.  S.  HALL. 

[P.  S.]  I  do  not  know  whether  I  had  better  go  home,  or  try  to 
stay  here  and  rest,  I  am  so  miserably  tired. 

THE  OLD  BRICK,  GOSHEN 
9  A.  M.  Monday  Morning  July  14,  1884 

DEAR  ASAPH:  I  have  just  got  through  the  morning's  work.  Got 
up  at  half  past  five,  built  the  fire,  got  the  breakfast  which  consisted 
of  cold  roast  beef,  baked  potatoes,  Graham  gems,  and  raspberries 
and  cream. 

Percie  got  up  with  me  and  went  for  the  berries,  Angelo  went  over 
to  his  Uncle  Lyman's  for  the  milk  and  cream,  and  Sammie  went  out 
into  thfe  garden  to  work.  Breakfast  at  half  past  seven.  After  break 
fast  all  the  boys  went  to  the  garden,  Sammie  and  Percie  to  kill 
potato  bugs  and  Angelo  to  pick  the  peas  for  dinner.  Sammie  has 
just  come  in  to  his  lessons.  Angelo  is  not  quite  through,  Percie  is 
done.  I  have  washed  the  dishes  and  done  the  chamber  work.  Now 
I  have  some  mending  and  a  little  ironing  to  do.  I  have  done  our 
washing  so  far  a  little  at  a  time.  I  washed  some  Saturday  so  I  have 
the  start  of  the  common  washer-women  and  iron  Monday.  I  sup 
pose  at  home  you  have  got  somebody  to  wait  on  you  all  round,  and 
then  find  it  hard  work  to  live.  I  have  mastered  the  situation  here, 
though  it  has  been  very  hard  for  two  weeks,  and  have  got  things 
clean  and  comfortable. 

The  old  brick  and  mortar  though,  fall  down  freely  whenever  one 
raises  or  shuts  a  window,  or  when  the  wind  slams  a  door,  as  it 
often  does  here  in  this  country  of  wind. 


A  BUNDLE  OF  LETTERS.  121 

Lyman  has  begun  haying.  It  was  showery  Friday  and  Saturday 
afternoon  and  some  of  his  hay  got  wet. 

Next  month  Lyman  is  to  take  the  superintendency  of  the  Torring- 
ton  creamery  much  to  the  discomfiture  of  Mary.  [Professor  Hall's 
brother  Lyman  married  Mary  Gilman,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Hall's 
cousin.]  He  made  no  arrangements  as  to  stated  salary.  Mary  is 
trying  to  have  that  fixed  and  I  hope  she  will. 

Now  how  is  A.  Jr.  ?  I  think  he  had  better  come  up  here  and  stay 
with  us  awhile  if  his  health  does  not  improve  very  soon. 

How  is  George? 

Adelaide  is  staying  with  Dine  during  her  vacation,  they  both  came 
up  here  last  Tuesday,  stayed  to  dinner,  brought  little  Mary.  I  have 
not  seen  Mary  Humphrey  yet.  [Adelaide  and  Adeline,  twins,  and 
Mary  Humphrey  were  Professor  Hall's  sisters.]  But  the  boys  saw 
her  the  Fourth. 

Affectionately 

C.  A.  S.  HALL. 

[P.  S.]    I  do  not  think  best  for  A.  to  go  to  Pulkowa. 

WASHINGTON  Nov.  i;th  1887 

MY  DEAR  BOYS  [Samuel  and  Angelo  at  college]  We  received 
Angelo's  letter  the  first  of  the  week  and  were  very  glad  to  get  such 
a  nice  long  letter  and  learn  how  strong  you  were  both  growing. 

I  left  for  New  Haven  two  weeks  ago  this  morning ;  had  a  pleasant 
journey.  A.  met  me  at  the  depot.  I  had  a  room  on  Wall  street  not 
far  from  the  College  buildings,  so  it  was  a  long  way  to  the  Observa 
tory  and  I  did  not  get  up  to  the  Observatory  till  Sunday  afternoon, 
as  A.  wanted  to  sleep  in  the  mornings.  Friday  A.  drove  me  up  to 
East  Rock,  which  overlooks  the  city,  the  sea  and  the  surrounding 
country.  Saturday  evening  we  went  to  tea  to  Mrs.  Elkins  and  after 
tea,  a  pleasant  little  party  gathered  there.  Sunday,  Prof.  Newton 
came  and  took  me  to  hear  President  Dwight  preach,  in  the  afternoon 
A.  and  I  went  to  Mrs  Winchesters  to  see  the  beautiful  flowers  in  the 
green  houses,  then  we  went  to  Prof.  Marshes,  after  which  we  went 
to  Miss  Twinings  to  tea  then  to  Prof.  Wrights.  Monday  I  went  up 
to  the  Observatory  and  mended  a  little  for  A.  then  went  to  Dr. 
9 


122  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

Leighton's  to  tea  and  afterwards  to  a  party  at  Mrs.  Winchesters.  I 
forgot  to  say  that  Monday  morning  Mrs.  Wright  came  for  me  and  we 
went  through  Prof.  Wright's  physical  Laboratory,  then  to  the.  top  of 
the  Insurance  building  with  Prof.  Newton  to  get  a  view  of  the  city. 
Tuesday  morning  I  went  up  to  the  Observatory  again  and  mended  a 
little  more  for  A.,  then  went  down  to  dinner  and  at  about  half  past 
two  left  for  New  York  where  I  arrived  just  before  dark,  went  to  the 
Murray  Hill  Hotel,  got  up  into  the  hall  on  the  way  to  my  room  and 
there  met  Dr.  Peters,  who  said  that  father  was  around  somewhere, 
after  awhile  he  came.  Then  we  got  ready  and  went  to  Prof.  Chand 
ler's  party.  Wednesday  I  went  to  the  meeting  of  the  Academy.  In 
the  afternoon  Pres.  Barnard  gave  a  reception.  In  the  evening  Mrs. 
Draper  gave  a  supper,  and  before  supper  Prof.  Pickering  read  a 
paper  on  his  spectroscopic  work  with  the  Draper  fund,  and  showed 
pictures  of  the  Harvard  Observatory,  and  of  the  spectra  of  stars  etc. 

Thursday  it  rained  all  day,  but  I  went  to  the  Academy  meeting. 
Friday  a  number  of  the  members  of  the  Academy  together  with  Mrs. 
Prof.  Barker  Mrs.  Draper  and  myself  went  over  to  Llewellen  Park 
to  see  Edison's  new  phonograph.  They  gave  us  an  elaborate  lunch. 
Saturday  morning  your  father  and  I  went  to  the  museum  and  saw 
the  statuary  and  paintings  there,  and  left  Jersey  City  about  2  P.  M. 
for  home,  where  we  arrived  at  about  half  past  eight:  We  had  a 
pleasant  time,  but  were  rather  tired.  Percie  and  all  are  well  as 
usual.  Aunt  Charlotte  is  a  great  deal  better.  Aunt  Ruth  has  not 
gone  to  Wisconsin.  I  sent  her  thirty  dollars  to  go  with.  I  guess  she 
will  send  some  of  it  to  Homer  to  come  home  with.  Jasper  has  left 
home  again  said  he  was  going  to  Syracuse.  Aunt  Ruth  has  trouble 
enough,  says  she  has  been  over  to  Elmina's,  and  David  does  not  get 
up  till  breakfast  time  leaving  E.  to  do  all  the  chores  I  suppose.  She 
writes  that  Leffert  Eastman's  wife  is  dead,  and  their  neighbor  Mr. 
Adnah  Carley. 

Now  I  must  close  my  diary  or  I  shall  not  get  it  into  the  office 
to-night. 

I  am  putting  down  carpets  and  am  very  busy 

With  love 

C.  A.  S.  HALL. 


A  BUNDLE  OF  LETTERS.  123 

[WASHINGTON]  Nov.  I2th  '88 

MY  DEAR  ANGELO  AND  PERCIVAL  [at  college],  ....  Sam.  is  read 
ing  Goethe's  Faust  aloud  to  me  when  I  can  sit  down  to  sew,  and 
perhaps  I  told  you  that  he  is  helping  me  to  get  things  together  for 
my  Prometheus  Unbound.  He  is  translating  now  Aeschylos'  frag 
ments  for  I  wish  to  know  as  far  as  possible  how  Aeschylos  treated 
the  subject.  I  have  a  plan  all  my  own  which  I  think  a  good  one, 
and  have  made  a  beginning.  I  know  I  shall  have  to  work  hard  if  I 
write  any  thing  good,  but  am  willing  to  work.  You  must  write  often. 
Father  and  Sam.  and  I  went  to  Mr.  Kings  to  tea  last  evening.  On 
the  next  day  after  Thanksgiving  our  Historical  Society  begins  its 
work. 

With  love 

C.  A.  S.  HALL. 


CLINTON,  N.  Y.  Sept.  8th,  1890 

MY  DEAR  BOYS  [Angelo  and  Percival],  I  arrived  here  safely  early 
this  afternoon.  Miss  Waitt  and  I  had  a  very  pleasant  drive  on 
Thursday.  We  passed  the  Cascade  Lakes.  Stopped  at  the  John 
Brown  place  for  lunch,  then  drove  over  to  Lake  Placid,  we  went 
up  to  the  top  of  the  tower  at  Grand  View  House  and  had  a  good 
look  at  the  mountains  and  the  lake  as  far  as  we  could  see  it  there. 
Then  we  passed  on  to  Wilmington  Notch  which  I  think  much  finer 
than  any  mountain  pass  which  I  have  before  seen.  We  went  on  to 
Wilmington  and  stayed  over  night.  There  was  a  hard  shower  before 
breakfast,  but  the  rain  stopped  in  time  for  the  renewal  of  our  jour 
ney.  We  arrived  at  Au  Sable  Chasm  a  little  after  noon  on  Saturday. 
The  Chasm  is  very  picturesque  but  not  so  grand  as  the  Wilmington 
Pass.  We  saw  the  falls  in  the  Au  Sable  near  the  Pass;  there  are 
several  other  falls  before  the  river  reaches  the  Chasm.  From  the 
Chasm  we  went  on  to  Port  Kent  where  Miss  Waitt  took  the  steamer 
for  Burlington,  and  where  I  stayed  over  night.  In  the  morning  I 
took  the  steamer  for  Ticonderoga.  We  plunged  into  a  fog  which 
shut  out  all  view  till  we  neared  Burlington,  when  it  lifted  a  little. 
After  a  while  it  nearly  all  went  away,  and  I  had  a  farewell  look  of 


124  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

the  mountains  as  we  passed.  It  began  to  rain  before  we  reached 
Ticonderoga  but  we  got  a  very  good  view  of  the  old  Fort.  I  thought 
of  Asaph  Hall  the  first,  and  old  Ethan  Allen,  and  of  your  great  great 
grandfather  David  Hall  whose  bones  lie  in  an  unknown  grave  some 
where  in  the  vicinity. 

The  steamer  goes  south  only  to  Ticonderoga ;  and  there  I  took  the 
cars  for  Whitehall  where  I  found  my  cousin  Elizabeth  Benjamin 
seemingly  most  happy  to  see  me.  She  is  an  intelligent  woman 
though  she  has  had  very  little  opportunity  for  book  learning.  She 
has  a  fine  looking  son  at  Whitehall. 

It  will  soon  be  time  for  you  to  leave  Keene.  I  think  it  would  be 
well  for  you  to  pack  your  tent  the  day  before  you  go  if  you  can  sleep 
one  night  in  the  large  tent.  Of  course  the  tent  should  be  dry  when  it 
is  packed  if  possible,  otherwise  you  will  have  to  dry  it  after  you  get 
to  Cambridge.  Remember  to  take  all  the  things  out  of  my  room 
there.  The  essence  of  peppermint  set  near  the  west  window. 

They  are  all  well  here  at  the  Borsts. 

I  shall  go  up  to  Aunt  Elmina's  this  week.    Write  to  me  there. 

Love  to  all, 

C.  A.  S.  HALL. 


2715  N  Street  [same  as  18  Gay  St] 

WASHINGTON  D.  C.  March  28th  1891 

MY  DEAR  BOYS  [Angelo  and  Percival  at  college],  ....  I  am  sorry 
the  Boston  girl  is  getting  to  be  so  helpless.  I  think  all  who  have  to 
keep  some  one  to  take  care  of  them  had  better  leave  for  Europe  on 
the  first  steamer. 

I  think  co-education  would  be  a  great  help  to  both  boys  and  girls. 
I  have  never  liked  schools  for  girls  alone  since  Harriette  Lewis  and 
Antoinette  McLain  went  to  Pittsfield  to  the  Young  Ladies  Institute. 

I  have  just  been  reading  Mrs.  Stanton's  advice  to  her  sons,  "  When 
you  marry  do  choose  a  woman  with  a  spine  and  sound  teeth."  Now 
I  think  a  woman  needs  two  kinds  of  good  back-bone. 

As  for  Astronomical  work,  and  all  kinds  of  scientific  work,  there 
may  not  be  the  pressing  need  there  was  for  it  a  few  centuries  ago; 
but  I  think  our  modern  theory  of  progress  is  nearly  right  as  de- 


A  BUNDLE  OF  LETTERS.  125 

scribed  by  Taine,  "  as  that  which  founds  all  our  aspirations  on  the 
boundless  advance  of  the  sciences,  on  the  increase  of  comforts  which 
their  applied  discoveries  constantly  bring  to  the  human  condition, 
and  on  the  increase  of  good  sense  which  their  discoveries,  popu 
larized,  slowly  deposit  in  the  human  brain."  Of  course  Ethical  teach 
ing  must  keep  pace.  It  is  well  to  keep  the  teaching  of  the  Prometheus 
Bound  in  mind,  that  merely  material  civilization  is  not  enough ;  and 
must  not  stand  alone.  But  the  knowledge  that  we  get  from  all 
science,  that  effects  follow  causes  always,  will  teach  perhaps  just  as 
effectively  as  other  preaching. 

This  makes  me  think  of  the  pleasant  time  Sam  and  I  had  when  he 
was  home  last,  reading  George  Eliot's  Romola.  This  work  is  really 
a  great  drama,  and  I  am  much  impressed  with  the  power  of  it. 

I  would  say  Philosophy  AND  Science  now  and  forever  one  and 

inseparable 

With  much  love 

C.  A.  S.  HALL. 


WASHINGTON  D.  C.  June  loth  '92 

MY  DEAR  PERCIVAL  [at  college],  Your  father  has  just  got  home 
from  Madison.  He  says  you  can  go  to  see  the  boat-race  if  you  wish 
to.  A.  Jr.  says  perhaps  he  will  go,  when  are  the  tickets  to  be  sold, 
he  says,  on  the  train  that  follows  the  race?  He  thinks  perhaps  he 
would  like  two  tickets. 

Now  about  your  furniture.  When  Sam  was  home  we  talked  it 
over.  He  thought  you  had  better  sell  to  the  Fays  the  bureau,  bed 
stead,  chairs,  etc.  and  that  you  send  home  the  revolving  bookcase, 
the  desk  and  hair  mattress ;  and  such  of  the  bedclothes  as  you  wish 
to  carry  to  the  mountains  of  course  you  will  keep,  but  I  expect  to  go 
up  there  and  will  look  over  the  bedclothes  with  you,  there  may  be 
some  to  send  home. 

Now  I  suppose  you  are  to  keep  your  room  so  that  our  friends  can 
see  the  exercises  around  the  tree  on  Class-day,  I  wish  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
King  to  come  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Berrien.  Will  you  write  to  them  or 
shall  I  write? 


126  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

I  expect  to  go  up  on  Wednesday  the  22nd  so  as  to  get  a  little  rested 
before  Class-day.    I  intend  to  go  over  to  stay  with  Mrs.  Berrien  at 
North  Andover  between  Class-day  and  Commencement. 
We  have  just  received  an  invitation  to  Carrie  Clark's  wedding. 
An  invitation  came  from  Theodore  Smith  to  Father  and  me,  but 
father  says  he  will  not  go. 

With  love 

C  A.  S.  HALL. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


AUGUSTA  LARNED'S  TRIBUTE. 

The  following  tribute  was  written  by  Miss  Augusta  Lar- 
ned,  and  published  in  the  Christian  Register  of  July  28, 
1892: 

There  is  one  master  link  in  the  family  bond,  as  there  is  one  key 
stone  in  the  arch.  Often  we  know  not  its  binding  power  until  it  is 
taken  away.  Then  the  home  begins  to  crumble  and  fall  into  con 
fusion,  and  the  distinct  atoms,  like  beads  from  a  broken  string, 
roll  off  into  distant  corners.  We  turn  our  thoughts  to  one  who  made 
the  ideal  home,  pervaded  it,  filled  its  every  part  like  air  and  sunshine 
coming  in  at  open  windows,  as  unobtrusive  as  gentle.  A  spiritual 
attraction  drew  all  to  this  centre.  It  was  not  what  she  said  or  did; 
it  was  what  she  was  that  inclined  footsteps  to  her  door.  Those  who 
once  felt  that  subtle,  penetrating  sweetness  felt  they  must  return  to 
bask  in  it  again  and  again.  So  she  never  lost  friends  by  a  loss  more 
pathetic  than  death.  There  were  no  dislocations  in  her  life.  All  was 
even  development  and  growth. 

The  good  she  did  seemed  to  enter  the  pores  of  the  spirit,  and  to 
uplift  in  unknown  ways  the  poor  degraded  ideal  of  our  lives.  The 
secret  of  her  help  was  not  exuberance,  but  stillness  and  rest.  Ever 
more  and  more  the  beautiful  secret  eluded  analysis.  It  shone  out  of 
her  eyes.  It  lingered  in  the  lovely  smile  that  irradiated  her  face, 
and  made  every  touch  and  tone  a  benediction.  Even  the  dullest  per 
ception  must  have  seen  that  her  life  was  spiritual,  based  on  unsel 
fishness  and  charity.  Beside  her  thoughtfulness  and  tender  care  all 
other  kinds  of  self-abnegation  seemed  poor.  She  lived  in  the  higher 
range  of  being.  The  purity  of  her  face  and  the  clearness  of  her  eyes 
was  a  rebuke  to  all  low  motives.  But  no  word  of  criticism  fell  from  her 


128  AN  ASTRONOMER'S  WIFE. 

lips.  She  was  ready  to  take  into  her  all-embracing  tenderness  those 
whom  others  disliked  and  shunned.  Her  gentle  nature  found  a  thou 
sand  excuses  for  their  faults.  Life  had  been  hard  with  them;  and, 
for  this  reason,  she  must  be  lenient.  The  good  in  each  soul  was 
always  present  to  her  perceptions.  She  reverenced  it  even  in  its  evil 
admixture  as  a  manifestation  of  the  divine. 

She  shunned  the  smallest  witticism  at  another's  expense,  lest  she 
should  pain  or  soil  that  pure  inner  mirror  of  conscience  by  an  exag 
geration.  Perfect  justice  was  the  rule  of  her  life.  To  the  poor  and 
despised  she  never  condescended,  but  poured  out  her  love  and  charity 
as  the  woman  of  Scripture  broke  the  box  of  precious  ointment  to 
anoint  the  Master's  feet.  All  human  beings  received  their  due  meed 
of  appreciation  at  her  hands.  She  disregarded  the  conventional  limits 
a  false  social  order  has  set  up,  shunning  this  one  and  honoring  that 
one,  because  of  externals.  She  was  not  afraid  of  losing  her  place  in 
society  by  knowing  the  wrong  people.  She  went  her  way  with  a 
strange  unworldliness  through  all  the  prickly  hedges,  daring  to  be 
true  to  her  own  nature.  She  drew  no  arbitrary  lines  between  human 
beings.  It  was  the  soul  that  interested  her.  The  rich  were  not  wel 
come  for  their  riches,  nor  the  poor  for  their  poverty;  but  all  were 
welcome  for  their  humanity. 

Her  door  was  as  the  door  of  a  shrine  because  the  fair  amenities 
were  always  found  within.  Hospitality  to  her  was  as  sacred  as  the 
hearth  altar  to  the  ancients.  If  she  had  not  money  to  give  the  mendi 
cant,  she  gave  that  something  infinitely  better, — the  touch  of  human 
kinship.  Many  came  for  the  dole  she  had  to  bestow,  the  secret 
charity  that  was  not  taken  from  her  superfluity,  but  from  her  need. 
Her  lowliness  of  heart  was  like  that  of  a  little  child.  How  could  a 
stranger  suspect  that  she  was  a  deep  and  profound  student?  Her 
researches  had  led  her  to  the  largest,  most  liberal  faith  in  God  and 
the  soul  and  the  spirit  of  Christ  incarnate  in  humanity.  The  study 
of  nature,  to  which  she  was  devoted,  showed  her  no  irreconcilable 
break  between  science  and  religion.  She  could  follow  the  boldest 
flights  of  the  speculative  spirit  or  face  the  last  analysis  of  the  physi 
cist,  while  she  clung  to  God  and  the  witness  of  her  own  being.  She 
aimed  at  an  all-round  culture,  that  one  part  of  her  nature  might  not 
be  dwarfed  by  over-balance  and  disproportion. 


AUGUSTA  LARNED'S  TRIBUTE.  129 

But  it  was  the  high  thinking  that  went  on  with  the  daily  doing  of 
common  duties  that  made  her  life  so  exceptional.  A  scholar  in  the 
higher  realms  of  knowledge,  a  thinker,  a  seeker  after  truth,  but, 
above  all,  the  mother,  the  wife,  the  bread-giver  to  the  household.  It 
was  a  great  privilege  to  know  this  woman  who  aped  not  others' 
fashions,  who  had  better  and  higher  laws  to  govern  her  life,  who 
admitted  no  low  motive  in  her  daily  walk,  who  made  about  her,  as 
by  a  magician's  wand,  a  sacred  circle,  free  from  all  gossip,  envy, 
strife,  and  pettiness,  who  kept  all  bonds  intact  by  constancy  and  un- 
dimmed  affection,  and  has  left  a  memory  so  sacred  few  can  find 
words  to  express  what  she  was  to  her  friends. 
******  ****  * 

But  love  and  self-forgetfulness  and  tender  service  wear  out  the 
silver  cord.  It  was  fretted  away  silently,  without  complaint,  the  face 
growing  ever  more  seraphic,  at  moments  almost  transparent  with  the 
shining  of  an  inner  light.  One  trembled  to  look  on  that  spiritual 
beauty.  Surely,  the  light  of  a  near  heaven  was  there.  Silently,  with 
out  complaint  or  murmur,  she  was  preparing  for  the  great  change. 
Far-away  thoughts  lay  mirrored  in  her  clear,  shining  eyes.  She  had 
seen  upon  the  mount  the  pattern  of  another  life.  Still  no  outward 
change  in  duty-doing,  in  tender  care  for  others.  Then  one  day  she 
lay  down  and  fell  asleep  like  a  little  child  on  its  mother's  breast, 
with  the  inscrutable  smile  on  her  lips.  She  who  had  been  "  mother 
ing  "  everybody  all  her  life  long  was  at  last  gathered  gently  and 
painlessly  into  the  Everlasting  Arms. 


EPILOGUE. 

An  amber  Adirondack  river  flows 
Down  through  the  hills  to  blue  Ontario; 
Along  its  banks  the  staunch  rock-maple  grows, 
And  fields  of  wheat  beneath  the  drifted  snow. 
The  summer  sun,  as  if  to  quench  his  flame, 
Dips  in  the  lake,  and  sinking  disappears. 
Such  was  the  land  from  which  my  mother  came 
To  college,  questioning  the  future  years; 
And  through  the  Northern  winter's  bitter  gloom, 
Gilding  the  pane,  her  lamp  of  knowledge  burned. 
The  bride  of  Science  she;  and  he  the  groom 
She  wed;  and  they  together  loved  and  learned. 
And  like  Orion,  hunting  down  the  stars, 
He  found  and  gave  to  her  the  moons  of  Mars. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 

fo«iP?nV°Umeiafter  ?6  third  ^  overdue    increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.     Books  not  in 

" application  is 


.OCT10 
MAYl    1977 


NOV  20  198? 


lOm-4,'23 


YC  51359 


